Monitoring device

ABSTRACT

A monitoring apparatus provides vehicle telematics data. The monitoring apparatus includes a sensor for sensing vehicle and engine motion induced vibration in part of a vehicle and for generating vibration associated data. The sensor is coupled to part of the vehicle. Engine motion induced vibration associated data is processed to extract a characteristic of the vehicle or the engine.

The present invention relates to a device for attachment to, orembedding within an article for monitoring the article, or apparatusthat the article forms part of. The invention has particular, though notexclusive, relevance to a device for securing to part of a vehicle formonitoring vehicle telemetry and/or the way in which vehicle is handledduring use.

Currently there are a number of telematics ‘black-box’ devices availablethat can be installed within a vehicle, such as a car or a lorry, toallow information relating to the way in which the vehicle is driven(such as speed, acceleration, breaking, location, time-of-day, distancetraveled etc.) and/or other vehicle related telemetry to be acquired andanalysed. These devices routinely make use of Global Positioning System(GPS) and Inertial Motion Units (IMU) to determine the location anddriving characteristics for a vehicle.

Typically, for example, such devices are installed in a vehicle onbehalf of an insurer, fleet manager, or the owner of the vehicle, toenable monitoring of how well the vehicle is driven and to check thatany usage conditions, such as restrictions on when and where vehicle canbe driven, are met. The device can also be used to provide useful datain the event of an accident such as the speed being driven, whether thebrakes were applied and/or other evasive action taken and/or whethercollision impact was sufficient to cause certain types of injury.

In the case of insurance related systems, the owner of the vehicle (orother person who insures it), has the potential to receive significantlyreduced premiums especially when the vehicle is analysed to be driven ina low risk manner compared to the normal risk associated with the riskprofile of the driver (e.g. age, gender, previous claim history, etc.).

In other scenarios, owners of vehicles that are driven by others (e.g.company owners of lorry or other vehicle fleets such as vehicle hirecompanies, companies providing company cars to employees, haulagecompanies, delivery companies etc.), can use the black-box devices interalia to monitor how their vehicle is being driven, whether a driver is‘eco-driving’ to meet regulations or decrease fuel costs and/or whethera driver is complying with any specific conditions imposed on them (e.g.conditions on distance traveled, locations visited, times driven and/orthe like).

There are two main types of black box, one is connected via an on-boarddiagnostics port (OBDII) connector, and the other is a specialist fittedstandalone black box.

OBDII connected black boxes connect to a vehicle's controller areanetwork (CAN) bus to listen for CAN data, such as vehicle speed etc.Such black boxes can potentially be fitted by a knowledgeable customerand are typically fitted somewhere under the dash or glovebox.

A specialist fitted black-box is generally more focused towardsanti-theft and high risk drivers/cars. Such a black-box can be fittedalmost anywhere on a vehicle, but needs to be wired into the powersupply of the car (and often the ignition/alarm feeds). The specialistfitted black-box is, however, largely independent of the vehicle's ownsystems. For example, a specialist fitted black-box will often have itsown GPS, modem/SIM, acceleration sensors, and gyroscope, will be tamperproof, and will often have an ability to initiate a tracker or similarservice.

Whilst black-box devices are relatively small and lightweight, they arerelatively expensive to purchase and install (especially those requiringspecialist installation). In the insurance case, this may requireadditional insurance premiums to cover this cost or an upfront fee. Invehicle fleet case this represents a relatively high cumulativeoverhead. There may also be costs associated with the removal of theblack-box device when no longer required or appropriate, for examplewhen the vehicle is sold, the main driver and/or insurer is changed,and/or the driving profile of an existing driver no longer warrants theuse of the black-box device.

Driver smart-phone apps are more commonplace, as these can simply bedownloaded by drivers onto their own smart-device as part of areduced-premium offer/option. The internal GPS in the smart-phone isthen used by the app to derive vehicle usage data that can be uploadedto the insurer's server. In this case, as with the black box devices,the GPS allows a number of characteristics to be monitored including:how many miles a vehicle is driven; what sort or areas the vehicle isparked in; what sort of roads are driven along and at what speeds (whichcan be cross referenced with speed limits); what time of day the vehicleis being driven at (late at night or the rush hour for example); andpotentially, by cross referencing with weather forecasts, in whatconditions the vehicle is driven.

GPS however is not particularly suitable for monitoring the style ofdriving due to the low data rate (<2 Hz) not picking up the fine detailof maneuvers and is relatively power intensive when being usedsubstantially continuously which can potentially drain a smart-phone'sbattery quickly, and can reduce overall battery life. While somesmart-phones have accelerometers, uncertainties surrounding the phonesplacement and orientation in the vehicle limit their benefit.

The present invention aims to provide an improved monitoring apparatusand potentially at least one associated method that overcomes or atleast alleviates some of the above issues.

In one embodiment an improved monitoring device is provided in which thedevice (or a sensor thereof) is configured for attachment to a vehiclewindscreen (or ‘windshield’) to allow measurement, via the vibrationsinduced to the windscreen (or other part of the vehicle) during vehicleuse, driving and other vehicle usage related parameters such as drivingeconomy and risk. The device enables vehicle driving styles to beassessed and relayed via a user communications device such as asmart-phone or the like. This could for example be used to provide dataas part of a variable insurance policy based on use. Such a device mayinclude sensors such as accelerometers to monitor driving behaviourrelated parameters including, not only g-forces induced on the device,but also vibrational characteristics relating to engine revolutions perminute (RPM), wheel RPM and/or other automotive data that can be derivedfrom the vibration characteristics of the windscreen or other vehiclepart, thereby enabling estimation of engine conditions, and alsoenabling estimation of current engaged gear, whether by predeterminedthreshold limits according to a training data set, or algorithmic‘learning’ of which gears are likely to be in use according tohistorical and current data. Such a device may be powered by a cell, ora solar panel, perhaps in conjunction with a super-capacitor or acombination of all of these (e.g. as a backup).

This embodiment of an improved monitoring device therefore provides arelatively inexpensive and flexible device that provides many of thebenefits of existing telematics, black box devices in which the abovelimitations have been ameliorated or overcome.

According to one aspect the invention provides monitoring apparatus forproviding vehicle telematics data, the apparatus comprising: means forsensing vehicle and engine motion induced vibration in part of a vehicleand for generating vibration associated data, the sensing means beingadapted to be coupled to said part of said vehicle; means for processingsaid vehicle and engine motion induced vibration associated data togenerate processed data representing at least one characteristic of saidvehicle or engine; and means for communicating said processed datarepresenting at least one characteristic of said vehicle or engine to acommunication device for use in compiling telematics data for saidvehicle.

According to one particularly beneficial aspect of the invention thereis provided monitoring apparatus for providing vehicle telematics data,the apparatus comprising: means for sensing vehicle and engine motioninduced vibration in part of a vehicle and for generating vibrationassociated data, the sensing means being adapted to be coupled to saidpart of said vehicle; means for processing said vehicle and enginemotion induced vibration associated data to generate processed datarepresenting at least one characteristic of said vehicle or engine; andmeans for communicating said processed data representing at least onecharacteristic of said vehicle or engine to a communication device foruse in compiling telematics data for said vehicle; wherein theapparatus, by virtue of having a weight of less than 100 g, issufficiently lightweight to allow the sensing means to sense saidvehicle and engine motion induced vibration in said part of said vehiclewith sufficient sensitivity for the processing means to detect, fromsaid vehicle and engine motion induced vibration, at least one eventaffecting said vehicle, and to allow the apparatus to survive a typicalvehicle collision.

The apparatus may, by virtue of having a weight of less than 100 g, issufficiently lightweight to allow sensing means to sense said vehicleinduced vibration in said part of said vehicle with sufficientsensitivity for the processing means to detect, from said vehicle motioninduced vibration, at least one event affecting said vehicle that occurswhilst the vehicle is stationary with the engine off.

The apparatus may comprise a power supply (for example a battery such asa coin cell battery or the like) and wherein the apparatus has a weightof less than 100 g including said power supply.

The apparatus may have a weight of less than 50 g (possibly includingthe battery).

The apparatus may have a weight of approximately 25 g (possiblyincluding the battery).

In one embodiment, the processing means may be adapted to process thevibration associated data to provide processed data representing atleast one characteristic of the vehicle or engine comprising at leastone of engine revolutions per minute (RPM), wheel RPM and/or currentlyengaged gear.

In another embodiment, the processing means may be adapted to processthe vibration associated data to provide processed data representing atleast one characteristic of the vehicle or engine comprising at leastone of idle frequency, stroke cycle, number of cylinders, vehicle speed,engine type and/or vehicle type.

The processing means may be adapted to process said vibration associateddata to provide the processed data representing at least onecharacteristic of the vehicle or engine in a format that requiresfurther processing, by at least one of the communication device andanother device to derive the characteristic of the vehicle or enginecommunication device for use in compiling telematics data for thevehicle.

The processing means may be adapted to generate the processed data basedon a frequency analysis of the vibration. The processing means may beadapted to detect at least one vehicle related event based on saidvibration data.

The sensing means may be adapted to be coupled to (to sense vehicle andengine motion induced vibration in) and to generate vibration associateddata for, a part of the vehicle comprising at least one of a windscreen(windshield), a body part, and/or a part of a vehicle chassis.

The sensing means may be adapted for coupling to a rigid part of thevehicle. The apparatus may comprise a housing in which the sensing meansmay be located, the housing being adapted to be mounted to the part ofthe vehicle. The sensing means may comprise an accelerometer.Furthermore, the sensing means may be adapted to sense vehicle motion ina plurality of different dimensions and to provide associated motiondata for the plurality of different dimensions.

In one embodiment, the processing means may be adapted to derive anorientation of the motion data to a longitudinal axis representingvehicle motion in a forward/reverse direction and a lateral axisrepresenting vehicle motion in a lateral (left/right) direction when, inuse, the vehicle begins to move after being stationary.

The processing means may be adapted to maintain the orientation of themotion data to the longitudinal and lateral axes for at least somefuture occasions when, in use, the vehicle begins to move after beingstationary. The processing means may be adapted to derive an orientationof the motion data to a vertical axis based on a gravitational force.

The monitoring apparatus may comprise a connector for connecting theapparatus to a diagnostics port on the vehicle.

In one embodiment, the communicating means may be adapted to communicateusing wireless communication. The communicating means may be adapted tocommunicate with the communication device using wireless communicationin accordance with at least one of a: Bluetooth, Bluetooth Smart, NearField Communication (NFC), Wi-Fi, 3G/2G, LTE, and Zigbee communicationprotocol. The communicating means may be adapted to communicate with thecommunication device using wired communication.

The monitoring apparatus may be adapted to receive power from aninternal battery (e.g. a coin cell, cylindrical cell, or the like). Themonitoring apparatus may be adapted to be connected into an electricalcircuit of the vehicle and to receive power from the electrical circuit.

In one embodiment, the sensing means may be adapted to sense othervehicle motion and to output associated data; and the processing meansmay be adapted to process other vehicle motion associated data and togenerate processed data representing at least one characteristic of thevehicle. The processing means may be adapted to process the othervehicle motion associated data to provide processed data representing atleast one event affecting the vehicle, the event comprising at least oneof: an acceleration event, an impact event whilst the vehicle isstationary and the engine is off, a motion event whilst the vehicle isstationary and the engine is on, a door opening or closing event, and animpact whilst moving event (e.g. a crash event, or a windscreen chip orcrack event); and wherein said the communicating means is adapted tocommunicate the processed data representing at least one event affectingthe vehicle to a communication device for use in compiling telematicsdata for the vehicle.

In yet another aspect, the invention provides a monitoring apparatus forproviding vehicle data, the apparatus comprising: means for sensingvehicle motion and for generating vehicle motion associated data for avehicle having an engine; means for processing said vehicle motionassociated data to generate processed data representing at least oneimpact event affecting said vehicle whilst the vehicle is stationarywith the engine off; and means for communicating said processed datarepresenting at least one impact event to a communication device.

It will be appreciated that in this aspect the apparatus may or may notmonitor other vehicle related data including other vehicle relatedtelematics data. The term ‘telematics’ in this context is usedinclusively to include the monitoring of any vehicle related datarepresenting events affecting the vehicle including events while thevehicle does not have its engine on.

The means for communicating may be configured to communicate with anapplication on a user's communication device such as a mobile telephoneor may be configured to communicate with a third party application (e.g.at an insurer's premises). The latter option may be used to allow thedevice to be interrogated by an insurer after an event. Thisbeneficially allows a user to remove the device and send it to theinsurer or other third party (e.g. police) for analysis when there isevidence of damage to the vehicle monitored by the device.

In yet another aspect, the invention provides a monitoring apparatus forproviding vehicle telematics data, the apparatus comprising: means forsensing vehicle motion and for generating vehicle motion associated datafor a vehicle; means for processing said vehicle motion associated datato generate processed data representing at least one impact eventaffecting said vehicle; and means for communicating said processed datarepresenting at least one impact event to a communication device;wherein said apparatus is adapted to survive a vehicle collision byvirtue of its weight being less than 100 grams.

In yet another aspect, the invention provides a monitoring apparatus forproviding vehicle telematics data, the apparatus comprising: means forsensing vehicle motion and for generating vehicle motion associated datafor a vehicle, the sensing means being adapted to be coupled to a partof said vehicle; means for processing said vehicle motion associateddata to generate processed data representing at least one impact eventaffecting said part of said vehicle to which said sensing means iscoupled, said impact event being indicative of damage to said part ofsaid vehicle to which said sensing means is coupled; and means forcommunicating said processed data representing at least one impact eventto a communication device.

In one embodiment, said part of said vehicle to which said sensing meansis coupled may comprise glass (e.g. a windscreen or windshield of saidvehicle).

In yet another aspect, the invention provides monitoring apparatus forproviding vehicle telematics data, the apparatus comprising: means forsensing vehicle motion and for generating vehicle motion associated datafor a vehicle, the sensing means being adapted to be coupled to a glasspart of said vehicle; means for processing said vehicle motionassociated data to generate processed data representing at least oneimpact event affecting said vehicle; and means for communicating saidprocessed data representing at least one impact event to a communicationdevice.

The processing means may be adapted to process said motion associateddata to provide said processed data representing at least one impactevent in a format that requires further processing, by at least one ofsaid communication device and another device, to identify the occurrenceof said impact event.

The apparatus may have a first data acquisition mode and a second dataacquisition mode, the power consumption of the device being relativelyhigher in the second data acquisition mode than the first dataacquisition mode; and said processing means may be configured to:identify at least one vehicle related event from said vehicle and enginemotion induced vibration associated data; to determine a respectivevehicle related event type for each identified event; to determinewhether a change from one of the first and second data acquisition modesto the other of said first and second data acquisition modes should betriggered based on said determination of a respective event type foreach identified event; and/or to trigger said change from said one ofthe first and second data acquisition modes to the other of said firstand second data acquisition modes when it is determined that said changeshould be triggered.

In yet another aspect, the invention provides monitoring apparatuscomprising: means for sensing vehicle and engine motion inducedvibration in part of a vehicle and for generating vibration associateddata, the sensing means being adapted to be coupled to said part of saidvehicle; means for processing said vehicle and engine motion inducedvibration associated data to generate processed data representing atleast one characteristic of said vehicle or engine; and means forcommunicating said processed data representing at least onecharacteristic of said vehicle or engine to a communication device foruse in compiling telematics data for said vehicle; wherein the apparatushas a first data acquisition mode and a second data acquisition mode,the power consumption of the device being relatively higher in thesecond data acquisition mode than the first data acquisition mode;wherein said processing means is configured to: identify at least onevehicle related event from said vehicle and engine motion inducedvibration associated data; to determine a respective vehicle relatedevent type for each identified event; to determine whether a change fromone of the first and second data acquisition modes to the other of saidfirst and second data acquisition modes should be triggered based onsaid determination of a respective event type for each identified event;and to trigger said change from said one of the first and second dataacquisition modes to the other of said first and second data acquisitionmodes when it is determined that said change should be triggered.

In the second data acquisition mode, the apparatus may be configured todo at least one of: read sensor data at an increased rate relative tothe first data acquisition mode in order to gather sensor data; send acommunication signal at an increased rate relative to the first dataacquisition mode for establishing a connection for transmitting data;select a different power-management algorithm relative to the first dataacquisition mode; and/or choose an alternative serviceflow/communication protocol method relative to the first dataacquisition mode.

The processor may be configured to: generate a profile of data from thesensing means; wherein said triggering of a change from said one of thefirst and second data acquisition modes to the other of said first andsecond data acquisition modes may comprise triggering a power managementcomponent configured to vary a duty cycle in dependence upon saidprofile between said one of the first and second data acquisition modesand the other of said first and second data acquisition modes.

In yet another aspect, the invention provides a method of monitoringvehicle a method of monitoring vehicle telematics data using themonitoring apparatus of any other aspect the method comprising: sensing,at the sensing means of the monitoring apparatus, vehicle and enginemotion induced vibration in part of a vehicle to which the sensor iscoupled and generating vibration associated data; processing, at theprocessing means of the monitoring apparatus, said vehicle and enginemotion induced vibration associated data to generate processed datarepresenting at least one characteristic of said vehicle or engine; andcommunicating, using the communicating means of the monitoringapparatus, said processed data representing at least one characteristicof said vehicle or engine to a communication device for use in compilingtelematics data for said vehicle.

In yet another aspect, the invention provides a method of monitoringvehicle data, the method comprising: sensing vehicle motion andgenerating vehicle motion associated data for a vehicle having anengine; processing said vehicle motion associated data to generateprocessed data representing at least one impact event affecting saidvehicle whilst the vehicle is stationary with the engine off; andcommunicating said processed data representing at least one impact eventto a communication device.

In yet another aspect, the invention provides a method of monitoringvehicle telematics data, the method being performed by monitoringapparatus adapted to survive a vehicle collision by virtue of its weightbeing less than 100 grams, the method comprising: sensing vehicle motionand generating vehicle motion associated data for a vehicle; processingsaid vehicle motion associated data to generate processed datarepresenting at least one impact event affecting said vehicle; andcommunicating said processed data representing at least one impact eventto a communication device.

In yet another aspect, the invention provides a method of monitoringvehicle telematics data, the method comprising: sensing, at a sensorcoupled to a part of a vehicle, vehicle motion and generating vehiclemotion associated data for said vehicle; processing said vehicle motionassociated data to generate processed data representing at least oneimpact event affecting said part of said vehicle to which said sensingmeans is coupled; and communicating said processed data representing atleast one impact event to a communication device.

In yet another aspect, the invention provides a method of monitoringvehicle telematics data, the method comprising: sensing, at a sensorcoupled to a glass part of a vehicle, vehicle motion and generatingvehicle motion associated data for said vehicle; processing said vehiclemotion associated data to generate processed data representing at leastone impact event affecting said vehicle; and communicating saidprocessed data representing at least one impact event to a communicationdevice.

In another aspect, the invention provides monitoring apparatus forproviding vehicle telematics data is provided, the apparatus comprisinga sensor for sensing vehicle and engine motion induced vibration in partof a vehicle and for generating vibration associated data, the sensorbeing adapted to be coupled to said part of said vehicle, a processorfor processing said vehicle and engine motion induced vibrationassociated data to generate processed data representing at least onecharacteristic of said vehicle or engine; and a communicator forcommunicating said processed data representing at least onecharacteristic of said vehicle or engine to a communication device foruse in compiling telematics data for said vehicle.

In another aspect, the invention provides a monitoring apparatus forproviding vehicle telematics data, the apparatus comprising a sensor forsensing vehicle motion and for generating vehicle motion associated datafor a vehicle having an engine; a processor for processing said vehiclemotion associated data to generate processed data representing at leastone impact event affecting said vehicle whilst the vehicle is stationarywith the engine off; and a communicator for communicating said processeddata representing at least one impact event to a communication device.

In yet another aspect, the invention provides a monitoring apparatus forproviding vehicle telematics data, the apparatus comprising: a sensorfor sensing vehicle motion and for generating vehicle motion associateddata for a vehicle; a processor for processing said vehicle motionassociated data to generate processed data representing at least oneimpact event affecting said vehicle; and a communicator forcommunicating said processed data representing at least one impact eventto a communication device; wherein said apparatus is adapted to survivea vehicle collision by virtue of its weight being less than 100 grams.

In yet another aspect, the invention provides monitoring apparatus forproviding vehicle telematics data, the apparatus comprising: a sensorfor sensing vehicle motion and for generating vehicle motion associateddata for a vehicle, the sensor being adapted to be coupled to a part ofsaid vehicle; a processor for processing said vehicle motion associateddata to generate processed data representing at least one impact eventaffecting said part of said vehicle to which said sensor is coupled,said impact event being indicative of damage to said part of saidvehicle to which said sensor is coupled; and a communicator forcommunicating said processed data representing at least one impact eventto a communication device.

Also described herein is a beneficial method of managing data from themotion sensor the method comprising: obtaining, from the at least onesensor of the monitoring device, sensor data representing eventsaffecting a monitored vehicle; processing said sensor data to identifysaid events, to determine a respective event type for each identifiedevent, and to determine a respective background circumstance associatedwith each said event from a plurality of background circumstances of acommon background circumstance type; outputting, to a user, in a firstoutput stream, a respective representation of each identified event; andoutputting, responsive to input from said user, in a differentrespective output stream for each background circumstance of said commonbackground circumstance type, a respective representation of each saidevent with which said background circumstance is associated.

The processing may comprise processing said sensor data to determine arespective further background circumstance associated with each saidevent from a plurality of further background circumstances of a furthercommon background circumstance type. The method may further compriseoutputting, responsive to further input from said user, in a differentrespective output stream for each background circumstance of saidfurther common background circumstance type, a respective representationof each said event with which said background circumstance isassociated.

The background circumstance type may comprise at least one of thefollowing: a first type in which each background circumstance representsan activity in which said monitored object is involved; a second type inwhich each background circumstance represents a behavioural circumstancerelated to the monitored object (e.g. individual or group of individualsresponsible for the monitored object) at a time when the associatedevent occurred; and a third type in which each background circumstancerepresents a context in which an associated event takes place.

The background circumstance type may comprise a third type in which eachbackground circumstance represents a context in which an associatedevent has taken place. The context may represent at least one of anenvironmental context (e.g. a temperature range or humidity range inwhich an associated event has taken place); a time context (e.g. a timeof day in which an associated event has taken place); and a locationcontext (e.g. a geographical location or region in which an associatedevent has taken place). Each background circumstance representing acontext in which an associated event has taken place may represent anyother context (which may be unrelated to environment, time of the eventor the location of the event) such as, for example, historical contextwhich depends on what has happened to the monitored object prior to saidevent, or any other appropriate context.

The processing may further comprise processing said sensor data to groupevents into a plurality of groups each event group comprising events ofone or more different event types. The respective representation, ofeach event of a particular group, may share at least one common featurewith each other representation of the events of that particular group.

The obtaining, may obtain said sensor data representing events affectinga monitored object together with time data identifying a time associatedwith said event.

The obtaining may obtain said sensor data representing events affectinga monitored object together with location data (e.g. satellitepositioning data) identifying a geographic location or region associatedwith said event.

The obtaining may obtain said sensor data representing events affectinga monitored object together with environmental data (e.g. temperatureand/or humidity data) identifying an environmental factor (e.g. atemperature and/or humidity) associated with said event.

Each identified event may be included in said first output stream in achronological order. Each identified event may be included in each saidoutput stream in a chronological order.

Each said output stream may be output as a different respective visualstream on a display.

Also described herein is apparatus for managing data from the motionsensor beneficially, the apparatus comprising: means for obtaining, fromthe at least one sensor of the monitoring device, sensor datarepresenting events affecting a monitored vehicle; means for processingsaid sensor data to identify said events, to determine a respectiveevent type for each identified event, and to determine a respectivebackground circumstance associated with each said event from a pluralityof background circumstances of a common background circumstance type;and means for outputting, to a user, in a first output stream, arespective representation of each identified event and for outputting,responsive to input from said user, in a different respective outputstream for each background circumstance of said common backgroundcircumstance type, a respective representation of each said event withwhich said background circumstance is associated.

Aspects of the invention extend to computer program products such ascomputer readable storage media having instructions stored thereon whichare operable to program a programmable processor to carry out a methodas described in the aspects and possibilities set out above or recitedin the claims and/or to program a suitably adapted computer to providethe apparatus recited in any of the claims.

The monitoring device preferably uses short range wireless radiotechnology such as Bluetooth, and is provided with a clock. Thecommunication apparatus may be arranged to operate with a wirelesscommunication technology having a relatively low unimpeded indoor rangeof up to approximately 50 meters (e.g. between ˜40 meters and ˜60meters), operating in a frequency band of ˜2.4 to 2.5 GHz, and/or havinga bit rate of approximately 200 kbit/s (e.g. between 180 kbit/s and 220kbit/s). The communication apparatus may be arranged to operate with awireless communication technology having a lower bit rate thanconventional Bluetooth. The communication apparatus may be arranged, forexample, to operate with a wireless communication technology complyingwith Bluetooth low energy protocol, in order to save power. Thus acommunication ‘advertising event’ can have a pre-configured lowperiodicity.

The invention may also provide a system including the monitoring device,a portable smart device configured for communication with the device,and a remote server configured to communicate with the smart device toobtain the data.

The server may, for example, be configured to include features such asdigital key management for data confidentiality, authentication ofdevices and users, and anti-counterfeiting measures. It may also includean analytics engine for processing data. It may also include userinterfaces for administration or consultation of data or events. It mayalso include an alerting mechanism for distributing data, events, or weblinks to data or events via SMS, email or other messaging systems.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood, referencewill now be made by way of example to the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is an overview of a telematics monitoring system;

FIG. 2 is a simplified block schematic of a monitoring device for use inthe system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a simplified block schematic of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an example of an idealized plot of the correlation of thelongitudinal acceleration and the lateral acceleration of an examplevehicle;

FIG. 5a is an example density plot of the acceleration correlation for afamily car;

FIG. 5b is an example line plot associated with FIG. 5 a;

FIG. 6a is an example density plot of the acceleration correlation for asupermini;

FIG. 6b is an example line plot associated with FIG. 6 a;

FIG. 7a is an example density plot of the acceleration correlation foran executive commuter car;

FIG. 7b is an example line plot associated with FIG. 7 a;

FIG. 8 is an example of a spectrogram of vibration power andacceleration of an example vehicle over time;

FIG. 9 is a diagram of an example journey fingerprint for a vehicle thatis using the monitoring device of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is an illustration of other ways in which event data may beanalysed and represented;

FIG. 11 illustrates a monitoring system for another application;

FIG. 12 illustrates a generalised technique for managing complex datafrom a sensor of a monitoring device similar to the more specificexample of a journey fingerprint shown in FIGS. 9 and 10; and

FIG. 13 is a diagram of an example journey fingerprint for a typicallogistics scenario.

OVERVIEW

The embodiments described with reference to the figures are illustrated,primarily, by reference to their application in the insurance industry.It will be appreciated, however, that the concepts disclosed are equallyapplicable in other industries and in particular to the owners andmanagers of fleets of vehicles such as vehicle hire companies, companiesproviding company cars to employees, haulage companies, deliverycompanies etc.

Referring to FIG. 1, the invention provides a system 1 for use inInsurance Telematics comprising a monitoring device or ‘tag’ 2, a‘smart’ user communication device 26 comprising a smart deviceapplication (‘app’) 28 for communication with the monitoring device 2,and a secure remote server 50 for handling analysis, reporting andalerting configured to communicate with the smart device 26 via app 28and a communication network 13 such as the internet. The server is alsoable to communicate with a number of other devices 15 such as, forexample: a mobile (cell) phone (e.g. using a short messaging service SMSor automated voice call), a tablet computer (e.g. via an associated webpage or app) and/or a personal computer (e.g. via an associated web pageor dedicated software on the personal). In the above exemplary system,the monitoring device 2 is configured to monitor vehicle usage data andto wirelessly transmit this data to the app 28 installed on the smartuser communication device 26. The smart user communication device 26, inthis example comprises a ‘smart-phone’ that is configured to transmitthe received vehicle usage data received via app 28 over the internet 13to the secure remote server 50.

The secure remote server may belong to an insurance company or an ownerof a fleet of cars for example. System 1 would allow the insurancecompany to track the driving behaviour of a driver and establish a‘risk’ profile based on the driving behaviour for that driver, forinsurance purposes. The driving behaviour being recorded may also beused to provide feedback to the driver as to how well they are drivingor to capture the details of an accident or collision. Use of such asystem is advantageous to a driver as good driving behaviour mayfacilitate them to save on their insurance premium.

In this embodiment, the monitoring device 2 is rigidly mountable to avehicle windscreen or windshield (or other part of the vehicle such asthe door sill, chassis cross-brace or the steering wheel) and comprisesa sensor array for measuring the vibration and acceleration of thevehicle to which it is mounted. Typically, the sensors used may includeaccelerometers as well as temperature and humidity sensors, but they mayinclude other sensors such as light, magnetometer and gyroscopic motion.The monitoring device 2 being rigidly mounted onto the vehiclewindscreen/windshield is particularly advantageous as it allows even therelatively small vibrations associated with subtle changes in engineactivity, which may otherwise be inadvertently filtered out, to bedetected by the monitoring device 2. The detected vibrations and/orother information from the accelerometer can then be used to infermultiple aspects of vehicle usage data and driving behaviour of adriver. These aspects may include wheel speed, engine RPM, gearselected, longitudinal and lateral acceleration, ABS/ESP events, impactor crash severity and orientation of a vehicle. In addition to capturingthese subtle vibrations, the rigid mounting of the monitoring device 2also allows for the detection and logging of bumps and scrapes effectedonto the vehicle when it is not in use (for example whilst parked). Themonitoring device 2 is also sufficiently small and lightweight enough toallow the sensors to sense these very subtle vehicle vibrations.Furthermore, the monitoring device 2 is arranged to use short rangeradio technology such as Bluetooth.

Typically the smart-phone 26 can operate with a wireless communicationtechnology having a relatively low unimpeded indoor range of up toapproximately 50 meters (e.g. between ˜40 meters and ˜60 meters),operating in a frequency band of ˜2.4 to 2.5 GHz, and/or having a bitrate of approximately 200 kbit/s (e.g. between 180 kbit/s and 220kbit/s). The smart-phone 26 can also operate with a wirelesscommunication technology having a lower bit rate than conventionalBluetooth, for example, to operate with a wireless communicationtechnology complying with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) or Bluetooth Smartprotocol, in order to save power. Furthermore, smart-phone 26 typicallycan make use of GPS.

The app 28 will typically be installed by the user on the smart-phone 26although it may come pre-installed on the smart-phone 26.

The app 28 comprises a ‘scan’ mode in which it causes the smart-phone toscan for nearby monitoring devices and to provide a list of thepermissible devices seen by the user. The user can then select theappropriate monitoring device 2 from the list using the app 28 andassign the correct monitoring device 2 to the correct vehicle. The app28 may, as part of this process, monitor the signal strength of thenearby monitoring devices and suggest the monitoring device 2 which isnearest (i.e. has the strongest signal) to the user (e.g. byprioritizing the list, highlighting the closest device(s), or simplypresenting one device to the user). This process also includes arejection function, if the device 2 has not been associated correctlyvia the app 28. Additionally, the device 2 is able to rejectcommunication requests from an unassociated app from another user. Theassociation between the smart-phone 26 and monitoring device 2 need onlyhappen relatively infrequently (e.g. once a year at renewal).

Beneficially, in this example, the monitoring device also has a mode forproviding an indication to the user to confirm that the app 28 is indeedcommunicating with the monitoring device 2 that the user believes it tobe. This is particularly useful for situations where a new or previouslyun-paired monitoring device 2 is to be utilised especially where thereare a number of potential choices of device in the vicinity (e.g.multi-car insurance, where the owner is pairing all of theirvehicles/tags at once). The indication, in this example, could be avisual indication (e.g. comprising a light emitting diode (LED)) whichhas a first flashing status (e.g. having a particular flash signature,flashing at a particular rate and/or a particular colour) when themonitoring device 2 is first activated (e.g. by having a battery tabremoved) to indicate that the monitoring device 2 is ready to beassociated (aligned′) with a vehicle. The indication then moves into asecond flashing status different to the first (e.g. a different flashsignature, flash rate and/or colour), when being interrogated by auser's app, to confirm that it is this monitoring device 2 that the useris now interrogating via app 28.

It will be appreciated, by those skilled in the art, that any suitablevisual, audio or other indicator (or combination thereof) may be used toprovide a similar confirmation process.

Once the app 28 and the monitoring device 2 are communicating the app 28requests that the user confirms that the monitoring device 2 is attachedto the vehicle that is associated with the user in the app 28 orrequests that the user identify the vehicle to which the monitoringdevice 2 is attached either by selecting from a list of vehiclesprovided on a selection page in the app 28 (if multiple vehicles areassociated with the user in the app 28) or manually if the app 28 doesnot currently have the details of the vehicle (e.g. because the insurerhas not yet formed the association at the central server). This isparticularly advantageous in situations where a user has insuredmultiple cars at the same time.

Once the app 28 has completed linking the monitoring device 2 to thecorrect vehicle, no further user setup is required and the monitoringdevice 2 is able to auto-configure its own internal algorithms. The app28 provides a mode which can be consulted by the user in order toascertain whether the monitoring device 2 is ‘live’. The monitoringdevice 2 remains in an ‘on’ state until such a time as its power sourceruns out. In order to save energy, the monitoring device 2 may provideno visible signs of the ‘on’ state.

The app 28 is configured to run in the background on the smart-phone 26.This is advantageous as there is no need to actively start the app 28prior to driving. The app 28 is configured to interrogate the monitoringdevice 2 without any need for user interaction with the app 28. The app28 is configured to communicate with the secure remote server 50 whereit is agreed it can do so. This will typically be in areas of freeWi-Fi, or when cellular data is low cost or free. The app 28 comprisessettings including permission settings which can be used by the user toconfigure the app 28 in order to define where and when the app isallowed to run and to communicate with the secure remote server 50. Forexample, a particular permission may need to be set by the user to allowthe app 28 to run in the back ground. Another example would be where theuser defines the settings of the app 28 in such a way to allow the app28 to upload its data to the secure remote server 50 once a week.

User interaction with the monitoring device 2 is via app 28. The app 28is configured to allow the user to carry out tasks such as reviewingjourneys and seeing where, for example, high risk maneuvers minimisedtheir savings potential.

Even if the user elects not to give the app 28 sufficient permissions towork in the background, the monitoring device 2 is always on, and hencewill always log key aspects of every journey that the vehicle takes. Theapp 28 is configured to make use of the GPS component available in thesmart-phone 26 by making occasional requests for a GPS location plotfrom smart-phone 26. The monitoring device 2 manages the regularity ofthese requests based on various factors such as its knowledge of thejourney and what it expects to see in terms of vehicle signature(largely the engine signals seen), driver signature (typical driverbehaviour) and road signature (key bumps in the road). The monitoringdevice can minimise its reliance on GPS data by only requesting data tosupplement what it already knows. For example, based on its accelerationdata the monitoring device 2 may request a speed and locationconfirmation to supplement its risk alert prediction. This isadvantageous as the user is provided with a system that needs onlyminimal GPS requests, enabling prolonged battery life of the user'ssmart-phone 26.

Since it is possible for the user to inhibit the app 28 from running inthe background throughout a particular journey, it is possible to lackGPS data for those journeys. Through its connection 30 to the app 28 themonitoring device is aware that the vehicle is being driven without theapp 28. Such information is highlighted in the risk profile of the userand may result in the user losing their access to savings with alertsbeing sent to the insurer that the user is repeatedly electing to evadethe system functionality. This alerting could be performed by othermeans if the primary driver insists on keeping their phone/App switchedoff, e.g. by using the Apps on other users/drivers phones, or byreminding the primary driver via email or text etc. that without accessto the usage data, either premium reductions aren't possible, or inextreme cases, perhaps the insurance policy is null and void.

The app 28 is configured to show multiple views of the usage datagathered from the monitoring device 2. The usage data can be expandedbased on activity, owner and context. For example, the monitoring device2 can establish and indicate who was driving during which journey andhence who was responsible for causing each alert. This data can beviewed at a year view, all the way down to a particular journey withalerts highlighted. Each individual alert can then be analysed and anexplanation given as to why, for example, a combination of high-riskdriving, location, time, speed, acceleration, etc.

The secure remote server 50 is configured to receive the data collectedby the app 28 at intervals either pre-set by the insurer or set by theuser for collation, further analysis and coordinated response. The datacomprises the monitoring device 2's logged data and some GPS data fromthe smart-phone 26 relating to location and vehicle speed. The app 28 isconfigured to perform some processing of the data prior to transmittingit to the secure remote server 50 over communication network 13. This isadvantageous as it minimises the communication requirement to theanalytics component of secure remote server 50. Once real risk alertshave been confirmed, these will be sent back down to the app 28 via thecommunication network 13 to highlight were savings have or could havebeen made. This information may include the reasoning behind such riskassessments and will typically be more involved than simply “driving toofast” or “high lateral G”.

It will be appreciated that the above embodiment is only one example ofhow system 1 may be implemented. There are a number of alternatives andmodifications which may be made to system 1 without diverting from thescope of the claims. A number of alternatives and modifications arelisted under the section ‘Modifications and alternatives’ described atthe end of this document.

In the context of Insurance Telematics, there are quite a number ofadvantages to be gained by an insurer choosing to use system 1 and itscustomers. Due to the smallness, lightweight-ness and thinness of themonitoring device 2, it can easily be posted out to customers when theinsurer sends out their annual renewal documentation in the normalpostal system. The insurance company can request that the driver installthe monitoring device 2 and to install the latest version of app 28allowing the insurer to receive a notification via app 28 that thecustomer has successfully installed the monitoring device 2 onto theirvehicle. There are substantially zero installation costs incurred byboth parties (i.e. the insurer and the driver) and given the monitoringdevice 2 is very low-cost it can be treated as a disposable device whichties in well with the annual cycle of insurance and the usual habit ofswapping between insurers to get a lower quote. All of this helps lowerpremiums. Monitoring device 2 requires no power or electrical connectionto the vehicle, no special fitment to be attached to the car andtherefore no agreed relationship with the vehicle Original EquipmentManufacturers (OEMs). The monitoring device 2 (including app 28)provides a complete service and not just a sensor. For example, it ispossible to provide the owner or driver of a vehicle with accurateimpact logs which could provide evidence to mitigate personal injuryclaims, and provide a certain impact/accident alert, even if theaccident was small. The monitoring device in effect provides apro-active crash event notification service, where, immediately after anaccident, the critical crash data can be shared with, and analysed by,the backend systems, such that an insurance company could feasibly tryto contact the driver in question to reassure them that incident wasdetected, and actions are already in motion with regards to the claimprocess. Such a solution provides some clear enhancements oversmartphone-only solutions that can only rely on GPS data, e.g. knowingthe exact collision data can shed some light on who was to blame (e.g.the device detects a rear shunt, not the fault of the insured driver) orwhether or not the driver should seek medical advice (e.g. if the impactwas of sufficient severity and type to potentially cause a whiplashinjury)

Benefits to the customers include lower premiums with the usual costsassociated with a black-box and its installation avoided. Because of thequality of the data recorded, detailed analytics can be shared with thedriver to explain how their risk profile can be further enhanced orimproved. Since the monitoring device 2 is able to assess who is drivingthe vehicle, even if the same smart-phone 26 is always used, it would bepossible to preserve a multi driver fingerprint. As the monitoringdevice 2 is always ‘on’, it can highlight when the vehicle has seen animpact, even if the driver is not in their vehicle and the vehicle isparked. Furthermore, the monitoring device 2 is able to accuratelydetect severe crashes and can use the smart-phone 26 to alert, forexample, the insurance company, and perhaps even the emergency servicesor other road users.

The various components of the system 1 are now described in more detailin the following sections.

Monitoring Device

FIG. 2 shows a simplified block schematic of a monitoring device.

The monitoring device 2 comprises a form factor providing a smallpackage containing the device components, which are shown schematicallyin FIG. 2. The device 2 comprises a control module 8 which, in thisembodiment, comprises an integrated circuit (IC) such as a BluetoothSmart chip 8. The control module 8 is in communication with a 3-axisaccelerometer 10. Power, in this example, is provided by a battery 14such as a coin cell, and timing and synchronisation data is provided bya clock 16. Optionally one or more additional sensors 12 such astemperature, pressure or humidity sensors may be included that thecontrol module 8 is in communication with to acquire additional sensordata. The device 2 may also include one or more security components (asecure IC or the like), for the purposes of verifying messages fromother systems such a smart-phone or server, or confirming theauthenticity of the device to other systems such as a smart-phone orserver.

In general, the lighter the monitoring device is the better themonitoring device's sensitivity to subtle vibrations and the wider therange of vehicle characteristics that can be extracted from the dataacquired by the monitoring device. More specifically, by minimising thedevice mass and hence inertia, it is possible to capture eventsignatures that would be missed by a heavier apparatus. Accordingly, thepackage, in this embodiment, is small enough and lightweight enough forthe monitoring device to be fitted unobtrusively to the windscreen (orother part) of a vehicle without interfering with the ability ofaccelerometer 10 to sense the subtle vibration related data required todetermine vehicle related data such as engine revolutions per minuteaccurately. Typically, for example, the package fits within anapproximately 45 mm×45 mm×10 mm volume and has a particularlyadvantageous weight of ˜25 g or less. The weight of the device, beingless than ˜100 g (including battery) (and even more advantageously lessthan ˜50 g) is also particularly advantageous because it ensures thatthe device is easier to mount robustly, directly to a surface for whichvibrations are to be measured, with a good coupling between the deviceand the surface (e.g. adhesive tape is sufficient rather than a morecomplex mounting arrangement that would negate the ability to extractvibration related date); because it makes it easier to post out tocustomers and to install in a vehicle without specialist assistance; andbecause it allows the device to survive most vehicle collisions withoutsignificant damage thereby allowing potentially vital impact event datato be obtained following (or possible even during) an accident. The lowweight also allows extraction of other vehicle related data such as, forexample, a large amount of diagnostics data including data relating to:suspension ‘health’; tyre pressures; tyre alignment; exhaust ‘health’and/or the like. It will be appreciated, however, that whilst a weightof less than 100 g has been found to yield particularly good vibrationanalysis and associated results, a monitoring device of less than ˜150 g(or even less than ˜200 g) could still be used to provide usefulvibration related data. The control module 8 comprises a communicationinterface 18, coupled to a processor 20, which is coupled to a memory22, a power management component 24, and a data analysis module 25. Thecommunication interface 18 may use Bluetooth, Bluetooth Smart, NFC,Wi-Fi, 3G/2G, LTE, Zigbee or any other suitable wireless protocol. Theinterface 18 is configured to send an ‘advertise’ signal periodicallywhich can be detected by a corresponding device of for example adriver's smart-phone 26 or other smart device, and is configured toestablish a connection 30 with the smart-phone 26 for the transfer ofdata. Conveniently, the system of the invention also provides asmart-phone application (app) 28 which can be installed on thesmart-phone 26 for use interrogating the monitoring device 2. As anexample, Bluetooth Smart devices typically have a range of about 50 mindoors (if the transmit route is unimpeded).

The accelerometer 10 serves as an event sensor configured to trigger itsinterrupt command and to start storing pre-buffered data when eventsoccur. For example, an event may be triggered at the onset ofacceleration or deceleration exceeding one or more predeterminedthresholds. The internal rolling buffer of the accelerometer issufficient so that the onset of such events is captured, even inpre-trigger mode. This buffered data is then stored with the rest of thetriggered data in a single log file per event.

For example, a ‘significant’ event may be triggered if the accelerationdetected in one or more axis exceeds a predetermined threshold level,which is distinct from normal background levels, indicating that anabnormal event, such as an accident (e.g. heavy impact from the rear) ora bend being taken too fast, has occurred. Similarly, if decelerationexceeds a predetermined threshold level, which is distinct from normalbackground levels, it may indicate that an accident has occurred (e.g.an impact that sharply arrests movement of the vehicle) or a heavybraking event. Other less significant events, such as door opening anddoor closing events, engine idling events, high rev events, minorimpacts whilst the vehicle is stationary and engine off (e.g. a bump ina car park), may also be detected and used to trigger data acquisition.

A higher fidelity ‘log’ mode may be activated when needed during whichthe data is sent to the control module 8, which reads the data at ahigher rate during an event window, until the event is complete. Thismay be a predetermined time frame or may be determined in dependenceupon the data. For example the control module 8 may collect the data atabout 400 Hz for a few seconds or more, although it may block read thedata faster than it collects it.

The device may be configured using a platform design approach such thatadditional sensors 12 can be added. A low power mode for any sensors ora sensor cluster may be implemented as a default outside of an eventwindow. This can be done within a sub-system of the sensor(s) or may becontrolled by a function of the power management component 24 coded onthe control module 8. Thus aspects of the power management algorithm maybe implemented on the control module 8, such as the smart sensingfunction described above, wherein power consumption is minimised whenthe sensor is in ‘sleep’ mode, and the communicationlow-power/low-frequency advertise mode also described above when it isinferred that the device is not near an interrogating smart device. Whenthe device comes out of ‘sleep’ mode in response to an event, an eventrelevant power-management algorithm may be selected, and/or anappropriate service flow/communication protocol may be selected, independence on the nature of the detected event.

The data analysis module 25 comprises a firmware or software moduledesigned to cause the processor 20 to analyse the data acquired from theaccelerometer 10 and any other sensors. The processor 20, under thecontrol of the data analysis module 25, performs preliminary analysis onany data acquired and determines what data should be stored, followingthis preliminary analysis, for storing in the memory 22 for subsequenttransmission to the smart-phone 26.

Thus, the memory 22 stores the processed sensor data relating todetected events, ready for transmission to a smart-phone 26, such as tothe smart-phone app 28. How data is stored may be dependent upon thenature of the event sensed. For example, for a significant event (onewhere a predetermined acceleration or deceleration is exceeded)sufficient data may be needed to provide useful information about thenature of the event and any attempted evasive action taken and todetermine the severity of the event and/or further data that might allowfor a more detailed analysis following receipt by the smart deviceand/or by the server. Other events, for example those that can becharacterised as known regular events such as door opening or doorclosing event may require less data to be stored (e.g. time of event,type of event, and possibly a severity indicator).

Referring to FIG. 3, as already discussed a customer interrogates themonitoring device 2 via an app 28 installed on a smart-phone 26.

In addition the system may include a analysis facility associated with a‘headquarters’ 48 of a company having an interest in the drivingbehaviour of the customer, such as an insurance company or fleet owner.The analysis facility may provide a server 50 such as a cloud server,which could for example allow remote monitoring of data, as analysed atthe server end, relating to the vehicle or driver through a smart-phonein possession of the vehicle owner (which may be the same as, ordifferent to, the smart-phone used to collect and communicate the datafrom the monitoring device 2). The location of the vehicle may bederived from a GPS device 46 in, or associated with, the smart-phone 26used to collect and communicate the data from the monitoring device 2.Alternatively the monitoring device 2 may provide access to an internalGPS device (although where the monitoring device 2 is powered by its owninternal battery an external GPS would be advantageous to avoidexcessive power consumption). The monitoring device 2 may thus beinterrogated at any time by use of an insurance company-specific app 28on the smart-phone 26.

The analysis facility 48 may be provided with further data processingequipment 52 for processing the data remotely. Such data processing canuse more powerful algorithms since processing power and powerconsumption will not be limited as for a portable device. Furthermoreother sources of data 56 may be used to supplement the data from themonitoring device 2 such as the previous claim or driving history of auser or the behaviour trends of particular risk profiles as relating toage, gender, vehicle type, etc.

Furthermore the company can react to sensed incidents pro-actively, forexample sending a message or alert or call informing a customer of thetime and nature of potential damage to their vehicle and providing themwith details of their claim options, or the effects of making a claim ontheir premium, etc. This not only provides a clear servicedifferentiator to the insurance company, but such is the accuracy of thecrash data, that they can immediately ring-fence an associated cost forsuch a claim, thus greatly enhancing their own business risk model. Inaddition the facility may provide a website 54 for use by customers totrack the location of their vehicles, and the occurrence of anysignificant incidents. This is particularly advantageous for vehicleowners whose vehicles are being used by other drivers (e.g. theirhigh-risk teenage child or an employee).

Operation

Typical operation will now be described by way of example only, once auser has received the monitoring device from an insurance company.

The user first attaches the monitoring device 2 to the vehiclewindscreen or windshield, the monitoring device 2 is then enabled bypulling out a battery tab or similar to physically switch on power tothe monitoring device 2. The visual indication confirms that themonitoring device is now on and waiting for ‘pairing’ to the ownerssmartphone. The visual indicator may also be used to indicate otherevents, for example, that the monitoring device is now logging events orthat the battery is low. However, having a visual indicator is notessential and by eliminating it or restricting its use, more batterypower can be reserved for prolonged operation of the monitoring device2. It should not be possible to turn off the device once connected tothe vehicle and initialized.

The user then uses the app 28 to enter the ‘scan’ mode and to select anappropriate monitoring device 2. Communication is established betweenthe monitoring device 2 and the smart-phone 26 and the monitoring device2 confirms a successful ‘pairing’ either via the app 28, or perhaps bychanging its visual indication to a second status to confirm that it isthis monitoring device 2 that the user is now interrogating via app 28.

Once the app 28 and the monitoring device 2 are communicating the app 28requests that the user confirms the details of the vehicle that themonitoring device 2 is attached to by confirming a vehicle highlightedby the app 28, by selecting a vehicle from a list of vehicles providedon a selection page in the app 28 (if multiple vehicles are associatedwith the user in the app 28) or manually if the app 28 does notcurrently have the details of the vehicle. The app 28 then associatesthe monitoring device 2 to the correct vehicle. As explained later, thedevice 2 can confirm the driver and vehicle type once it has loggedactual usage data, which may help insurance companies compare insuredvehicles/drivers with actual, as detected by device 2.

By attaching monitoring device 2 to the vehicle windscreen orwindshield, and by setting the monitoring device up as described,measurement of the many subtle car vibrations can be logged andanalysed.

For example, FIG. 8 shows an extract of the orientated and smoothed(unwanted engine vibrations removed) accelerometer data and thespectrogram of vibrations for a supermini.

The extract illustrates some engine idling before the car pulls away (atjust below 30 Hz frequency in the spectrogram) with a particularlyaggressive progression through the gears (as seen at time pointsapproximately at 189, 192, 195, and 199 seconds in the frequency rangefrom approximately 60 Hz to approximately 100 Hz in the spectrogram). Inthis case the gear changes are clearly visible in both the orientedaccelerometer data as a break in the acceleration and in the vibrationdata as discontinuity in the fundamental frequency of the engine RPM.The wheel rotation and road noise related vibrations are clearlydistinguished from those related to engine rotation by frequency (havinga frequency of below approximately 40 Hz) and can therefore be filteredout and/or analysed separately.

The sorts of vibrational analysis that is, and can be, typicallyperformed will now be described in more detail by way of example onlywith reference to experimental data and possible applications of theanalysis in the telematics field. The vibrations logged can be broadlysplit into wheel/road vibrations and engine vibrations. In idealcircumstances it is possible to determine the car speed from the wheelvibrations (given a known wheel diameter). The engine idle frequency canbe clearly identified from the engine vibrations when the car isstationary and in most circumstances this enables the identification ofthe engine type (e.g. stroke cycle and number of cylinders) and theconversion of the fundamental frequency of engine vibrations into engineRPM. This enables the determination of gear changes. If the gear ratiosare known (or can be approximated) the specific gear could also bedetermined—alternatively the gears can be ‘counted’ from standstill todetermine approximate gear-in-use data.

Furthermore, variations between journeys with the same car and drivercan be used to infer the type of journeys undertaken (for example, longperiods on a motorway typically result in a concentration of lowaccelerations).

Correct Orientation

Advantageously, correct orientation of the monitoring device 2 sensoraccelerometer axes with the longitudinal (forward/backward), lateral(left to right) and vertical axes of the vehicle, can be achieved in atwo stage process without any external manual input from a user. Thefirst step is to rotate the calculated data axes within the device 2software such that gravity points down along vertical axis (or ‘z’ axisor ‘axis three’). The forward/backward and side to side components arethen separated by rotating the remaining two axes until the independenceof the signals in the two axes is maximised (this is done using amathematical technique called principal component analysis thatmaximises a statistical measure called the kurtosis).

The forward/backward and side to side components are then separated. Theforward/backward or ‘longitudinal’ acceleration axis is identified fromoccasions when the vehicle pulls away from being stationary. There willalways be an acceleration in the forwards/backwards direction first,even if the vehicle is pulling away around a corner, as lateralaccelerations are proportional to the vehicle speed as well as the turnrate, and when pulling away the vehicle's speed is very low. Whilst avehicle may reverse out of a parking space, and hence the forwarddirection of the axis may not be determined correctly immediately, inthe majority of cases the vehicle will then move forward, and will alsomove forward when pulling away from junctions and traffic lights, sothis can be robustly used to determine, and subsequently confirm (orcorrect) the forward/reverse direction of, the longitudinal axis. Hence,the orientation of the lateral acceleration axis can also be determinedaccurately.

Acceleration Correlation Plots

Advantageously, the analysis of data from the accelerometer can be usedto provide data that can be used to assess driving performance againstan idealized longitudinal acceleration and the lateral accelerationprofiles.

An idealized plot of the correlation of the longitudinal accelerationand the lateral acceleration of the vehicle is shown in FIG. 4 whichshows that the acceleration data is largely clustered around the x(longitudinal acceleration) and y (lateral acceleration) axes duringnormal driving with occasional excursions during more vigorousmaneuvers. The clear peak at the origin of this plots shows that for themajority of the time no vehicle accelerations are seen, i.e. either thecar is stationary or at a constant velocity and heading (e.g. on amotorway or other straight road). In normal driving, excursions along asingle axis are to be expected, e.g. the driver is accelerating orbraking in a straight line. In normal driving, most drivers tend not tosteer and brake/accelerate at the same time, hence steering inputs areusually seen at a constant speed, therefore this plot showssteering-only excursions along the y-axis. Steering inputs tend to beless severe than accelerations that can be generated by accelerating orbraking, hence the contour map shows a larger permissible excursionalong the longitudinal access, with smaller permissible excursions alongthe lateral access.

Where drivers clearly and repeatedly differ from this plot profile, e.g.they often combine heavy braking deceleration with harsh steering input,it is clear that such activity can be assumed to be of a ‘racier’driver. Whilst this knowledge does not directly correlate to risk (forexample they may be a very capable driver driving a very capable car),it does enhance the accuracy of how such a driver can be assessed. Whatis perhaps more useful is that particular driving characteristics can becompared to known driving styles associated with age/gender etc., anddecisions made on this comparison, e.g. the data may highlight manysporadic driving inputs, usually indicating an elderly driver, and therisk profile can therefore be optimised accordingly for that specificdriver.

Various factors affect the distribution of this correlation, forexample, journey type (motorways/autobahns or city centre traffic), thecar (the power and traction available) and the driver (how safe or howexuberant a driver they are). FIGS. 5a, 6a and 7a are example densityplots of the acceleration correlation for family car, supermini andexecutive car. The contours, over which the density plots of theacceleration correlation are overlaid, correspond to an idealized gooddriver. The line plots in FIGS. 5b, 6b and 7b indicate individualmaneuvers. Using this acceleration analysis driver style and thus theirrisk profile can be determined with the monitoring device 2 optimised toonly ‘wake up’ and log the higher-risk events (thus prolonging batterylife).

Vibration Analysis

Two main sources of vibrations are picked up by the monitoring device 2.The first is the engine vibrations relating to the piston firing rateand the engine revolution count. The second is the wheel-on-road noise,that consists of a noise component and a component linked to the RPM ofthe wheels. Depending on the car design and quality of road, one or bothof these may be visible. At higher speeds these signals become muchclearer.

To properly interpret vibrations relating to engine revs it is necessaryto convert from the observed frequency of vibration to the engine RPM.The conversion factor to do this will depend upon the configuration ofthe engine.

A vehicle engine may follow a two or four stroke cycle (cars are almostalways 4-stroke, but smaller motorbikes are often 2-stroke) and consistof between two and twelve cylinders. If the stroke cycle and the numberof cylinders is known the conversion is given by Equation (1), where thestroke cycle factor is two for a four stroke engine.

$\begin{matrix}{\left( \frac{{Engine}\mspace{14mu} {Revs}}{rpm} \right) = {60 \times \left( \frac{{vibration}\mspace{11mu} {frequency}}{Hz} \right) \times \left( \frac{{stroke}\mspace{14mu} {cycle}\mspace{14mu} {factor}}{{number}\mspace{14mu} {of}\mspace{14mu} {cylinders}} \right)}} & (1)\end{matrix}$

If the stroke cycle and number of cylinders is not known before hand, itmay be estimated from the engine idle frequency, which is clearlyobservable. Knowing that the idle speed of the engine should fall intothe range of 550 to 900 rpm, and that the combination of the strokecycle factor and number of cylinders can only take a limited anddiscrete set of values, the most likely conversion factor can bededuced.

Usefully a validation means may be provided as part of an advanced“engine fingerprinting” signature where the device 2 is able to assessif the car it is attached to is actually consistent with what thecustomer has insured. This could represent a useful check immediatelypost ‘pairing’ to confirm that the car paired is indeed the correct car.

Journey Fingerprinting

Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, in a particularly advantageous embodiment,the monitoring device 2, provides an output comprising respective eventdata, for each series of events, in conjunction with timing dataindicating when the event has occurred in a manner that allows a‘contextual map’ or ‘journey fingerprint’ to be built up, over time, ofthe chronological treatment of the vehicle with which the monitoringdevice 2 is associated.

The event data for each event is analysed and categorized into a numberof different event ‘streams’, each having a related backgroundcircumstance associated with the events in that stream, to allow thejourney fingerprint to be represented in a number of different ways tomaximise the benefits both internally in terms of event analysis andcharacterisation, and externally to the end user. This categorizationcan take place on the monitoring device 2 itself, in the smart-phone 26,or at the server 50 depending on processing requirements and whetheradditional information is required from a local source (e.g. GPS datafrom a source on the smart-phone). The categorization may classify theevent in terms of any useful classes but typically the event isclassified in terms of a number of different background circumstancetypes including, for example:

-   -   A. Activity: (e.g. What is happening?)    -   B. Behaviour: (e.g. Who is responsible for how well the activity        is happening?)    -   C. Context: (e.g. What is the context in which this is taking        place?)

The context may take various formats, depending on what aspect of thecontext is of interest, (e.g. when is the event happening? Where is theevent happening? or what is the environment in which the event ishappening?)

The actual journey fingerprint can be compared with an expected journeyfingerprint, after the journey, in order to detect anomalies, todetermine how efficiently or well a particular journey is being, or hasbeen, completed, and to identify weaknesses in a driver's capabilities.Such comparisons may be performed either within the monitoring device 2,the smart-phone 26 that the monitoring device 2 communicates with, orwith a server 50 of a central cloud based service. Such a solution candramatically save on system power, as the device 2 can be pre-programmedto only wake up at pre-determined points in its journey, based on knownjourney data, e.g. at a known driver transition or common manoeuvre, thedevice 2 can be programmed to wake and confirm that this activity hasindeed been seen as expected. For example, the device 2 can beprogrammed to ‘wake up’ from a low power mode and enter, or remain in, ahigh fidelity data acquisition or ‘log’ mode (as mentioned previously)based on the detection of a predetermined event or sequence of events(i.e. based on being at a particular location in a particularpredetermined event ‘stream’ into which the events have beencategorized).

In order to conserve power, for instance, the monitoring device 2 mayremain in a low power (or ‘sleep’) mode until a ‘door close’ event isdetected, the device 2 may then enter a ‘wait’ mode for a predeterminedtime period to determine whether a vehicle start event and/or a vehiclein motion event has occurred. If the expected engine start event and/orvehicle in motion event does not occur within a predetermined timeperiod the device 2 may, in effect, determine that the door close eventwas not a precursor to the vehicle being driven (e.g. it may have beenassociated with someone retrieving a belonging from the vehicle) andthen return to a low power mode. Similarly if an engine start event isfollowed by an engine turn-off event (and possibly another door closeevent) without an intervening vehicle in motion event then the device 2may return to a low power mode.

If the expected vehicle start event and/or vehicle in motion event doesoccur within the predetermined time period then the device 2 may enter acalibration mode (e.g. in which it calibrates itself to the direction oftravel) and/or a data acquisition mode in which it begins to record data(such as journey associated data) at a higher rate than in the low powermode in order to track the vehicle and/or acquire driver behaviouraldata.

Similarly, if an excessive acceleration, excessive deceleration, and/orexcessive speed event is detected (e.g. indicative of a crash, emergencymanoeuvre, and/or anomalous driver behaviour) the device 2 mayimmediately enter a different data acquisition mode (e.g. in which datais acquired at a higher rate and/or in which additional information isacquired such as timing information to identify the start, end and orlength of the event and/or the distance traveled during the event).

The context of the event may also feed into the way in which the device2 acquires data. For example, the triggering of an excessiveacceleration, excessive deceleration, and/or excessive speed event maydepend on the ‘location’ context of the type of road the vehicle isbeing driven on (e.g. is the speed/acceleration/deceleration appropriateto the road?), the environmental context of the temperature in which thevehicle is being driven (e.g. is the temperature is indicative ofpotential icy conditions?) and/or the chronological context of when theevent is taking place (e.g. is the time of the event a time when acurfew or driving restrictions have been imposed?).

Moreover, the behavioural categorization may be used to determine theway in which the device 2 acquires data. For example, the triggering ofan excessive acceleration, excessive deceleration, and/or excessivespeed event may depend on the identity of the driver or whether or notthe driver is known.

In yet another example, the monitoring device 2 may be configured eitherto ignore or to further analyse certain event data acquired via thesensor in dependence on the categorization of that event data. Forexample, where the event data is indicative of vibrations associatedwith a certain type of engine behaviour (e.g. engine over-revving), andthe event categorization indicates that the vehicle is stationary/emptywith its engine off, the event data can be ignored thereby minimising‘false positives’ (e.g. associated with a secondary source of vibration)and unnecessary entry to a higher power data acquisition mode.Contrastingly, where the event data is indicative of vibrationsassociated with that type of engine behaviour, and the eventcategorization indicates that the vehicle has its engine on, then thedevice can move into a higher power data acquisition mode to allow thebehaviour to be analysed in more detail.

Thus, it can be seen that appropriate and accurate identification ofevents, and more specifically appropriate categorization of those eventsinto a particular sequence of events, is key to further improving theability of the monitoring device to provide valuable information whilstminimising the unnecessary acquisition of extraneous data and key toproviding the associated benefits in terms of improved power efficiency.By ensuring that the monitoring device is ‘context aware’ (i.e. not onlyhaving knowledge of the specific event but also having knowledge of thecontextual and/or behavioural background to the event, both pre- andpost-event), the monitoring device can not only control the mode of thedevice, but can also provide greater clarity in predicting what hashappened, with greater reliability and with greater accuracy.

In order to implement this event sequence driven analysis, themonitoring device may be provided with a state-machine which has aplurality of different states each corresponding to a different powermode/sensing level/system behaviour, where each new mode is triggered byan event, or sequence of events. Thus, as events and an associatedsequence are identified (e.g. door activity→enginestart→motion→anomalous acceleration/speed event) the monitoring devicecan move back and forth through the different states of the statemachine. For example, to accurately determine a journey start in nearreal-time, the device resides in a low-power start-state until adoor-close event is seen. It then transitions to an intermediate stateto look for key vibrational characteristics of an engine start and/orthe signature of a vehicle accelerating from standstill. As soon as thisis detected it transitions state once again to a driving state, withcorresponding changes to its trigger thresholds (and alerts shared withthe corresponding App/smartphone/server). From this mode, it thenassesses when the vehicle is stationary (moving to another intermediatepossible-journey-stop state to help assess this). It then returns to theoriginal start-state, awaiting another journey to commence.

It will be appreciated that where a state machine based implementationis used, a plurality of state machines could be provided in co-existenceon the monitoring device and run in parallel. In this case each statemachine could be responsible for a different function. For example onestate machine may be configured to provide a near real-time alert to theApp that a journey has started, as above. At the same time another statemachine operates in parallel to detect when, mid-journey, the vehicleappears to have come to a complete halt (without triggering a journeystop alert unless there is a high level of certainty that the vehiclewas not about to move off again shortly—e.g. vehicle stop for apre-determined amount of time→engine off→door activity→no subsequentactivity for a pre-determined amount of time, no smartphone responsedetected etc.).

This state machine approach therefore not only allows the localmanagement of power budgets, and the provision of local internal alerts,but also allows valuable context to be provided to the event outputs. Itwill be appreciated that a similar state machine approach can be usedbeneficially on the monitoring device, App, and backend server. Theoverall system is designed such that this state machine approach can bedynamically shared amongst tag, App and server, with the combinedsolution being optimised in each case based on power budgets, therequired transmit rate, the regularity of being able to communicate witha smartphone (and hence server) etc. Where realtime notification to theApp is required, some local state-machine processing on the tag deviceis needed, whereas for other less challenging use-cases, more data canbe passed to the App or server for processing.

Referring to FIG. 9 for example, this illustrates the way in which theevent data may be analysed and represented for a typical telematics orsimilar scenario.

It will be appreciated that whilst FIG. 9 (and FIGS. 12 and 13 referredto later) show an advantageous possible graphical representations ofevent data that is enabled by the way in which the events are managed,categorized and ‘streamed’ (by activity, behaviour and context in thisexample), the event categorization techniques described herein havewider technical benefits beyond that of simply providing easier datamanagement and visualisation. For example, as explained in more detailabove, the event categorization techniques described herein allowsignificant improvements in the efficiency (in particular powerefficiency) with which the monitoring device 2 acquires data, analysesthe data to identify events, and communicates the processed data to thesmart device/server. Specifically, as explained above, thecategorization and streaming of the events allows the monitoring deviceto acquire, analyse and/or communicate data in a manner that is mostappropriate (e.g. for optimum power consumption) to the nature of theevent, or sequence of events, being detected.

As explained above, the monitoring device 2 is attached to the vehiclewindscreen and measures vibration and acceleration. In this case aprimary aim is to establish the “risk” profile of activity beingperformed for insurance purposes. There is also an opportunity toprovide feedback to the driver as to how well they are driving or tocapture the details of an accident or collision.

In this case, the event data may include, inter alia, data indicative ofa variety of events including: engine turn-on/engine idling events;acceleration, speed and/or deceleration events; anomalous engine events(e.g. over revving); door open and/or close events; vehicle in useimpact events (e.g. collisions while moving, windscreen impact eventsindicating a chipped or cracked windscreen); and vehicle not in useimpact events (e.g. collisions while stationary such as ‘bumps’ whileparked).

In the example of FIG. 9, the events shown in the representation aregrouped into a number of event types for improved clarity including: adoor opening/closing event type; an engine running type; a vehicle speeddetected type; and a significant event detected type. It will beappreciated, however, that other type groupings are possible dependingon requirements. FIG. 9b shows, by way of example, a number of differentevents that have all been grouped into the significant event typeincluding: an excessive acceleration and speed event; a repeated highengine revs event; a ‘bump’ whilst parked event (e.g. indicating thatthe driver cannot be at fault); and a collision or ‘crash’ event (inwhich case, if the collision is of a sufficient severity, the emergencyservices may be called and location/crash severity information passed onto them automatically, by the smart-phone—if communications capable). Inaddition to, or perhaps instead of, this pseudo eCall functionality, thesystem could immediately notify the insurance company and they could tryto contact the driver directly to check they are OK and notify them theclaim process has already been started etc. This rules out the typicaluncertainty of manually reporting an accident via claim forms, and theassociated hassle of establishing blame etc.

In FIG. 9a the different event types are shown in an ‘unexpanded’ viewas a single event timeline for a specific vehicle's journey.

In FIG. 9b the different event types are shown in a view that has beenexpanded, by activity category, into three different activity eventstreams or ‘swim lanes’, namely: a vehicle moving event stream; avehicle stationary event stream (engine on); and a vehicle parked(engine off) event stream.

In FIG. 9c the different event types are shown in a view that has beenexpanded, by behaviour category, into three different ‘behaviour’ eventstreams or ‘swim lanes’, namely: an unknown driver event stream; a firstnamed driver event stream; and a second named driver event stream. Itwill be appreciated that there may be other behaviour streams for othernamed drivers or other behaviour categories. Each driver is identifiedbased on a behavioural profile built up over time for that driver.Whilst a driver may not be identified immediately at the start of aparticular driver's journey in the vehicle, this may be inferred oncethe vehicle has been driven for a period of time, whereby the drivingstyle has been identified and hence the app display can be tack-dated′appropriately with this updated information (i.e. transferring thissection of the driving log from “unknown” driver status to “driver A” orsimilar. Supporting information is also used to enhance this picture, byusing additional events such as detection of car doors opening andclosing whilst the vehicle is stationary (hence meaning that the drivercould have changed, and hence triggering a reassessment of the drivingstyle seen).

In FIG. 9d the different event types are shown in a view that has beenexpanded, by context category, into a number of different ‘context’event streams or ‘swim lanes’ for each of three different context types:a location context type; a time context type, and a temperature contexttype. For the location context type the view has been expanded, bycontext category, into three different ‘location context’ event streams,based on GPS data, namely: a city centre event stream; a dangerous roadevent stream; and a motor way (freeway′) event stream. For the timecontext type the view has been expanded, by context category, into threedifferent ‘time context’ event streams, based on timing data, namely: aday event stream; a dusk event stream; and a night event stream. For thetemperature context type the view has been expanded, by contextcategory, into three different ‘temperature context’ event streams,based on temperature data, namely: a warm ambient (>5° C.) event stream;a low temperature (0-4° C.) event stream; and a freezing (<0° C.) eventstream.

FIG. 10 shows a further example of how the information available fromthe journey fingerprint may be represented for a longer time period,expanded, or reviewed in more detail by an insurer, vehicle owner ordriver.

FIG. 10a shows a ‘zoomable’ “DNA barcode” that shows changes inrisk/cost characteristic for a driver over a 12 month time period. As iscommon with modern apps, this image can be ‘swiped’ left-right to selectthe timeframe of interest, wherein it can then be ‘pinch-zoomed’accordingly.

FIG. 10b is similar to FIG. 9b showing how the risk/cost characteristicfor a particular vehicle over a particular journey on a particular daycan be represented as a contracted (single time-line) ‘barcode’ or anexpanded ‘barcode’ that separates out key characteristics intoindividual activity ‘swim-lanes’ or event streams.

As explained above, such characteristics may be ‘summaries’ ofinformation (event types) conflated from a number of ‘sub-level’characteristics (specific events). These ‘sub-level’ characteristics mayin turn be expanded to show further levels of detail.

FIG. 10c shows how simplified data can be provided for a specific periodor event. In the example the total period traveled, distance traveledand premium saved are provided.

FIG. 10d shows a data plot of how a characteristic (in this case RPM)inferred from vibration data changes over time.

FIG. 10e shows a 2D plot of how two characteristics (forward andsideways acceleration) vary together for a particular event or timeperiod.

FIG. 10f shows how the ‘barcode’ risk type information can be overlaidover mapping data (e.g. a GPS map) to illustrate how risk changes over aparticular route thereby allowing a driver to modify their behaviourbased on detailed risk information gleaned from their regular journeys.

The manner in which the telematics event data is used in this example issignificantly advantageous, compared to conventional OBDII type ‘blackbox’ type tracking methods, because the output from the monitoringdevice 2 allows a more detailed picture of the vehicle's usage to bebuilt up, including, for example, information relating to events thatoccur when the vehicle is not being driven (and when the ignition isoff, typically depowering the OBDII type black-box solutions) andinformation identifying driver change over events that allowresponsibility for particular events to be attributed appropriately andinsurance premiums to be tailored appropriately based, for example, onaverage miles driven by each named driver in combination with the riskprofile for that driver gleaned from the event data collated over time.

It can be seen, therefore, that the technique for managing data receivedfrom the monitoring device 2 beneficially involves processing event datato identify the events and to determine a respective event type for eachidentified event, and a plurality of background circumstances (e.g.vehicle driver, time of day, where the vehicle is being driven,environmental conditions such as temperature, vehicle stationary (engineon), vehicle parked (engine off) etc.), associated with the event. Theevent data may be output, e.g. to a visual display, in a single eventstream representing all the identified events or as a plurality of eventstreams each event stream including events having a particularbackground circumstance associated with them. This simplifies managementof the data considerably as it allows events having a particularbackground circumstance associated with them to be identified andanalysed separately from having a different background circumstanceassociated with them. Each event may have a number of differentbackground circumstances associated with it, each backgroundcircumstance being selected from a set of background circumstances of aparticular type (e.g. activity, behaviour and/or context).

CONCLUSION

The monitoring device and associated apparatus and methods disclosedenable the accurate assessment of driver behaviour in a manner that isadvantageous both to the driver and the insurer and/or vehicle fleetowner. The impact of this approach for the vehicle insurance sectorcould be significant, as the claimed monitoring devices are able todetect information not previously possible with smart-devices alone.

This solution could realistically provide a “one-solution-fits-all”platform, significantly enhancing the current App-only solutions, andpotentially replacing many high-cost black-box applications. Thesmall/flat form-factor of the monitoring devices could realistically beoffered to all drivers, with the device perhaps being shipped with theannual renewal documentation.

By embracing such a low-cost, robust, risk-analysis solution, insurancecompanies could offer their customers potentially game-changingcost-savings on their premiums, without exposing themselves to anyadditional or unacceptable risk.

Modifications and Alternatives

Detailed embodiments have been described above. As those skilled in theart will appreciate, a number of modifications and alternatives can bemade to the above embodiments whilst still benefiting from theinventions embodied therein. By way of illustration only a number ofthese alternatives and modifications will now be described.

The monitoring device could detect the type of vehicle, for example, itsengine type or size or dynamic capabilities. This could help reducefraudulent claims. For example it could help with the detection of“chipped engines” and other after-market work done to a vehicle. Drivingstyles could also be distinguished so it would be possible to infer whois actually driving and what their typical risk characteristics are, forexample, that they are elderly drivers. Such analysis can includejourney risk-contour plots, with detailed comparisons to known profiles,and even ad hoc analysis of sporadic behaviours.

It will be appreciated that the power management component 24 running onthe device may be used such that only crucial events are logged, withsuitable alerts being raised via Bluetooth to the driver's smart-phone,which then in turn shares the data with the secure remote server when itis able to do so (e.g. in areas of free Wi-Fi or when the cellularconnection is free). Whilst the smart user communication device may be ageneral smart-phone device, it may also be a preprogrammed dedicatedsmart communication device specifically configured to be used with themonitoring system described.

Whilst power is described as being provided by a coin cell type battery,it will be appreciated that power may be provided by any other suitablemeans in combination with or as an alternative to a coin cell. Forexample, the power efficiency of the monitoring device advantageouslyallows power to be provided via a solar cell. Power could also beprovided via the vehicle's battery using a connection into the vehicle'selectric system via a 12 v ‘cigar’ socket, or via theon-board-diagnostics (OBD/OBDII) port.

Moreover, it will be appreciated whilst the use of a monitoring devicein conjunction with a separate smart device such as a mobile telephone(smart-phone), is particularly advantageous. A single ‘black box’solution may be provided in which the relevant smart-phone functions(the functions of the app and the communication capabilities) areintegrated with the sensor and processor as a single unit that providesthe functions described above. The functions and capabilities describedmay be implemented in software, hardware, firmware, or a mix of these.

Whilst the windscreen mount location is particularly beneficial both interms of visibility of device and vibration related data acquisition,the monitoring device could be configured for mounting in any otherlocation on a vehicle (including being built into the vehicle itself)where vibrations are induced while the vehicle is in motion. Themonitoring device could be configured for mounting on (or embeddedwithin) any appropriate rigid point on the vehicle body, chassis orcomponents. For example, the monitoring device could be configured formounting to other location such as a door sill, chassis cross-brace, oreven the steering wheel or dash board. It will be appreciated thatwindscreens could be provided with the sensor part of the monitoringdevice embedded within it and other parts of the monitoring deviceprovided separately but connected to the sensor device.

In the above embodiments, the mobile devices are smart-phones. It willbe appreciated that the above embodiments could be implemented usingdevices other than smart-phones such as, for example, personal digitalassistants, laptop computers, web browsers, tablets, etc.

It is anticipated that new vehicles may be required to have a facilityto call the emergency services in a severe crash (for example one whereairbags have been deployed). The device could provide similar crashdata. The device could also be used to provide similar eCallfunctionality, as an ‘aftermarket’ or ‘retro-fit’ feature, via thesmartphone thereby enabling older cars to be retrofitted with similarfunctionality.

It will be appreciated that whilst the above description is primarilyconcerned with a vehicle telematics embodiment in which a monitoringdevice or lag′ is configured for attachment to a vehicle, the technologydescribed herein has much wider applicability. It is envisaged, forexample, that a monitoring device may also have uses outside the fieldof vehicle telematics. In this more general context, the monitoringdevice may be configured for attachment to an item to be monitored, themonitoring device comprising a sensor for sensing a condition relatingto the item, and a detector for detecting a predetermined event relatingto the condition, the sensor being arranged to gather data concerningthe condition for a time period following detection of the event by thedetector, a data processor, a memory arranged to store the data, and acommunication interface arranged to generate a wireless signal fortransmitting the data.

In more detail, examples of other potential applications include:

-   -   Logistics. There is a need to check whether shipments (e.g.        comprising parcels or packages) have been handled safely and        appropriately during transport. For example, an article may be        damaged if the parcel is dropped or exposed to extremes of        temperature or humidity. A customer receiving an article        generally is required to perform a brief manual inspection of        the article before acknowledging safe receipt. However some        types of damage are easily overlooked during such inspection and        may not come to light until a later date. Other types of damage,        such as deterioration of a substance caused by incorrect        storage, may not be ascertainable from inspection. Furthermore,        if the article has been damaged, it may be difficult or        impossible to ascertain when during the delivery process the        article became damaged, which may for example lead to disputes        between a customer, and/or various handling entities such as a        delivery company or manufacturer. In one application of the        technology, therefore, a monitoring device is provided in or on        an article such as a letter, parcel, shipment, consignment,        package, tote, thermal packaging (active or passive), or other        shipping container, to monitor its condition and/or en route        treatment.    -   Cold chain pharmaceuticals. The delivery of many drugs is        temperature dependent—i.e. if the temperature of a container is        allowed to drift above a certain value, the drugs then become        inactive, even though there is no visible indication of this.        The device of the invention could provide a ‘real-time’        temperature (or other condition) alert during transit, or a        smartphone could be used to check condition before delivery to a        healthcare professional, or even by an end user such as a        healthcare professional or patient (e.g. a “don't administer”        warning could be provided if the drugs have been subject to        certain temperature or other events). In such an embodiment, for        example, the monitoring device may be configured for attaching        to a medical shipment sensitive to temperature or shock such as        a drug shipment, vaccine shipment, organ, or other biologic or        non-biologic shipment. An event such as temperature exceeding or        falling below a predetermined threshold for a particular drug or        the like, or a shock event, or cumulative shock over time,        exceeding a predetermined threshold, may trigger data        acquisition and/or an associated alert.    -   V2V, or Vehicle to Vehicle communications. The device could be        used as an aftermarket add-on to allow cars to communicate with        each other—i.e. if one sensor detects a skid event, it can share        a warning of icy road conditions via the network of similarly        enabled monitoring devices to other nearby cars (including those        going in the opposite direction). V2V is a system being        developed in the automotive sector by the major OEMs, but        widespread adoption may well be limited if only available on new        luxury cars. The device would be a low-cost (but less capable)        alternative to facilitate the growth and acceptance of the V2V        device market.    -   Train integrity/positioning. There is a need for train operators        to know if all train carriages remain connected. Current        signally relies on detecting the rear lamp on the end carriage        before opening up a zone of track. If the device is made to be        robust, the range limit of around 50 m could be advantageous,        whereby an adhoc mesh of devices could be formed, with a device        affixed to each carriage. If the carriages did part, the network        would be broken, and an alert raised. Such a system could also        provide a more accurate representation of the total length of        the train, based on how many devices are visible.    -   Equipment monitoring. The device could be used to provide        monitoring for equipment such as power tools, manufacturing        equipment, and the like. For example, the monitoring device may        be configured for attaching to a piece of equipment intended to        be used many times such as pneumatic drill, or a train door, or        an impact tool, or an elevator, or a building door. The device        may, for example, monitor for fault conditions, out of pattern        behaviours: by comparison against a ‘normal’ profile where the        ‘normal’ profile may be represented by predefined thresholds; by        comparison against other equipment of the same type or installed        in a similar environment; or by comparison against historical        performance of the equipment being monitored.    -   Building efficiency monitoring. In another example, the device        may be configured for attaching to a door or other entrance to a        room or a building, for the purposes of establishing whether the        building is being used efficiently. The device may, for example,        detect ‘door opening’ and/or ‘door closing’ events via an        accelerometer for use in determining whether energy efficient        use is being made of the building. Similarly, a device could be        configured for sensing temperature changes in a room for use in        heat management decisions (there could be more than one sensor        in a room).

Optionally the monitoring device may include one or more securitycomponents, for the purposes of verifying messages from other systemssuch a smartphone or server, or confirming the authenticity of thedevice to other systems such as a smartphone or server. Digital keysused by this security component(s) may include symmetric keys for shortrange radio links to another radio-enabled device (for instance abluetooth link key), symmetric keys for links with multiple hops such asvia a smartphone to a server, or public/private keypairs with associatedalgorithms such as ECDSA or ECDH for applying digital signatures to datagenerated by the device, verifying signatures applied by an externalsystem such as a server generated firmware upgrade or control message,or for key exchange or key transport to set up efficient session keysfor block or chained encrypted sessions, using algorithms such as AES.An off the shelf discrete security chip such as the Atmel ECC108 orInfineon Optiga may act as a secure container for these digital keys,including tamper resistance and RF/timing attack resistant features.

The device may be embedded within a material as part of a manufacturingprocess, such that the manufacturing and assembly processes can beoptimised, thus potentially leaving the redundant device within materialpost-manufacture.

Referring to FIG. 11 which illustrates a monitoring system for alogistics application, in the logistics example summarized above, anevent may be triggered at the onset of acceleration or decelerationexceeding one or more predetermined thresholds, which is distinct fromnormal background levels indicating normal or acceptable handling of aparcel or package. For a severe drop event (one where a predeterminedacceleration is exceeded), the stored data may be restricted (e.g. tosave memory, power and/or other resources) to the maximum value of theacceleration, the height of the drop, and the time of the drop. For aless violent event, more data may be stored since more data may beneeded to provide useful information about the nature of the event andto determine the severity of the event and therefore advise whether ornot the parcel has been correctly or well handled.

Upon delivery, a customer may be provided with the ability tointerrogate the monitoring device, for example by starting a dedicatedapp 1128 on their own smart device (e.g. smartphone 1128) at thedelivery address 1138, in order to verify the condition of the parcelbefore signing for it. The app 1128 may, for example, display criticalevents (if any) which have occurred during transit in an appropriatemanner such as by providing a page with a summary of the packagecondition and/or a page with a detailed time/severity log plot, enablingthe customer to make an informed decision whether or not to accept theparcel as undamaged. Furthermore if the parcel should not be accepted,the app 1128 may show exactly what happened to the parcel and when, andhence prevents the usual ambiguity of responsibility when there is acomplex logistics chain.

In the logistics example, the monitoring device can be inserted within apackage to avoid tampering issues and ensure the data relates to thecontent of the package and not the packaging itself. Alternatively themonitoring device could be included within the construction of a fragileobject for example a smart television.

As seen in FIG. 11, in the logistics example, the system may include atracking facility associated with a ‘headquarters’ 1148 of a companyhaving an interest in the transport of the package, such as a deliverycompany. The tracking facility may provide the server 1150 such as acloud server, which could for example allow remote monitoring of datarelating to the package through a company smart device 1144 located in adelivery van or at a warehouse 1140, preferably being GPS enabled,interrogating the monitoring device 2. The location of the package maybe derived from a GPS device 1146 associated with the smart device 1144if the smart device is in the interrogation range of the monitoringdevice 2 (e.g. at an approximate maximum range of 50 m indoors forBluetooth Smart). The monitoring device 2 may thus be interrogated atany stage of the logistics delivery process by use of a company-specificapp 1142 on the smart device 1144.

The tracking facility 1148 may be provided with further data processingequipment 1152 for processing the date remotely. Such data processingcan use more powerful algorithms since processing power and powerconsumption will not be limited as for a portable device. Furthermoreother sources of data 1156 may be used to supplement the data from theCMD. Location and condition data retrieved in this way could remove theneed to physically inspect and handle packages, increasing the speed andefficiency of logistics processing for example by replacing the need toscan barcodes in warehouses etc. Other interested parties 1158 such asmanufacturers, brand owners, or asset owners may also be able to accessdata via the tracking facility 1148.

Furthermore the company can react to sensed incidents pro-actively, forexample reordering an item, sending a message or alert informing acustomer of potential damage, etc. In addition the facility may providea website 1154 for use by customers to track the condition and locationof a package, which could potentially be independent of any specificcarrier. In the case where the monitoring device 2 is incorporated intothe item by the manufacturer, the manufacturer may also be able toremotely connect with the monitoring device 2 to check its condition,thereby enabling the manufacturer to assess warranty claims duringdelivery, installation and subsequent use.

The communication interface may be configured to have a low periodicitythat is a compromise between the transmission frequency and acceptableretrieval probability on a corresponding smart device, in order toconserve battery life. The interface may be provided with dynamicoptimisation of the ‘advertising event’ periodicity in order to transmitthe advertising event at a higher rate when a typical delivery event isdetected. Thus the processor may use a profile of data from thesensor(s), for example from the accelerometer, to infer whether theparcel is being transported in a van or being carried, and adjust theperiodicity accordingly. For example if the parcel is being carriedafter a period of being in a van then the periodicity may be increasedto better enable swift communication with a smart device, since it islikely that a customer will want to interrogate the tag at that time.

There are of course many other circumstances of combinations ofcircumstance which can be inferred from processing of the sensor datawhich may indicate that the monitoring device is about to theinterrogated and the periodicity should be increased, or vice versa. Asanother example, the device may be configured such that by tapping onthe box or shaking it gently at a predetermined frequency (chosen to bedifferent to those frequencies usually seen in transit due to roadvibrations etc.) the device could be ‘woken’ from its sleep modeimmediately. Thus if the item needs to be interrogated and the sensorshaven't detected a typical delivery event, the package can be gentlytapped/shaken to ‘wake’ the device thus causing it to transmit inhigh-rate mode.

In summary, the monitoring device may be configured for mounting to anysuitable item (such as a vehicle in the telematics example or a parcelin the logistics example) to monitor the treatment of the item duringnormal/abnormal operation, and for being powered by a cell. The devicemay comprise a sensor for sensing a condition relating to the treatmentor use of the item, a memory arranged to store sensor data, and acommunication interface arranged to generate a wireless signal fortransmitting the data, the device further comprising a detector fordetecting a predetermined event relating to the condition, and thedevice having a low power mode and a high power mode, the powerconsumption of the device being relatively higher in the high powermode, in which the device is triggered to switch from the low power modeto the high power mode for a finite time period following detection ofthe predetermined event, and to switch from the high power mode to thelow power mode upon expiry of the time period, and in which high powermode the device is configured so as to be operable to do at least oneof: read sensor data at an increased rate in order to gather sensordata; send a communication signal at an increased rate for establishinga connection for transmitting data; select a most relevantpower-management algorithm; and/or choose a correct serviceflow/communication protocol method.

Thus with the device attached to the item (such as a parcel or packageor an object within the parcel or part of a vehicle), it may be in a lowpower or ‘sleep mode’ until a relevant event takes place, such as athreshold value of the condition being exceeded, when the sensor willtrigger the device to ‘wake up’ and start buffering data concerning thecondition, such as the acceleration experienced during a freefall. Thedevice therefore can be designed to use very little power, such that itmay be powered by a single coin cell battery for a long period such asseveral weeks or months, whilst still capturing data concerning keyevents with sufficient resolution to be useful for example in accuratelydetecting peak accelerations.

Alternatively or in addition, the device in the low power mode may send‘advertising’ signals at a relatively low rate, and may be triggered toincrease the rate of the signals upon detection of an event indicatingthat the device is about to be interrogated, such as the item beingmoved indicating a delivery event, again enhancing performance whilstsaving power.

The detector may thus be an integral part of the sensor such as anaccelerometer, or a temperature or humidity sensor, or orientationsensor such as a gyro or compass. Alternatively the detector functionmay be implemented via a separate simple or ‘dumb’ sensor coupled to thepower management algorithm, which may enhance power saving. The devicemay comprise one or more further detectors/sensors associated with aplurality of conditions or events.

The communication apparatus preferably uses short range wireless radiotechnology such as Bluetooth, and is provided with a clock. Thecommunication apparatus may be arranged to operate with a wirelesscommunication technology having a relatively low unimpeded indoor rangeof up to approximately 50 meters (e.g. between ˜40 meters and ˜60meters), operating in a frequency band of ˜2.4 to 2.5 GHz, and/or havinga bit rate of approximately 200 kbit/s (e.g. between 180 kbit/s and 220kbit/s). The communication apparatus may be arranged to operate with awireless communication technology having a lower bit rate thanconventional Bluetooth. The communication apparatus may be arranged, forexample, to operate with a wireless communication technology complyingwith the Bluetooth Smart protocol, in order to save power. Thus thecommunication ‘advertising event’ can have a pre-configured lowperiodicity.

The communication apparatus preferably uses a short range, low powerwireless radio technology such as Bluetooth Smart, now common in newsmart-phones and tablets. The communication apparatus may be arranged tooperate with a configurable low-frequency transmit rate, in order tosave power. Thus the communication ‘advertising event’ can have apre-configured low periodicity.

The device may be arranged to monitor the sensor data to infer aspectsof the delivery event; for example to determine when a package is beingtransported in a van, delivered by a person walking etc. so that theadvertising frequency may be set and/or adjusted appropriately. Thedevice preferably includes a data processor and a power managementcomponent.

Preferably the nature of the data stored in the memory is determined independence upon the nature of the sensed event or condition, and thetime period for which data is gathered by the sensor is either apredetermined time or may also be dependent upon the nature of the eventor condition. Data relating to the time at which the condition or eventwas sensed is also preferably stored in the memory. For example for anextreme event the stored data may comprise a simple maximum value andtime value, whereas for a less severe event the data may comprise acondition profile over a longer time period.

Also described herein is a system including the device, a portable smartdevice configured for communication with the device, and a remote serverconfigured to communicate with the smart device to obtain the data.Thus, in the case of the logistics example, a delivery company mayinterrogate the device remotely via a smart device such as a phone in adelivery van or warehouse. The portable smart device is preferablyassociated with a GPS device for providing information concerning thelocation of the device to the system.

The server may, for example, be configured to include features such asdigital key management for data confidentiality, authentication ofdevices and users, and anti-counterfeiting measures. It may also includean analytics engine for processing data. It may also include userinterfaces for administration or consultation of data or events. It mayalso include an alerting mechanism for distributing data, events, or weblinks to data or events via SMS, email or other messaging systems.

It will be appreciated that the method of utilising the event data fromthe monitoring device described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10 abovemay be particularly advantageous in a number of other different usecases including, inter alia:

Logistics: parcels, letters, goods, produceVehicle fleet management (e.g. for vehicle hire as well as large servicefleets)Cold Chain Logistics: medicines, food and other perishablesCondition Monitoring: monitoring of assets, typically industrial, butpotentially also consumerActive Control: monitoring and control of tools and assets, typicallyindustrial, but potentially also consumer

This is illustrated, for example, in FIG. 12 in which a number ofgeneric ‘events’ are shown that are grouped into a number of eventgroups or ‘types’ (event groups 1 to 5) for improved clarity.

Paralleling what is shown in (and described with reference to) FIGS.9(a) to (d), FIG. 12(a) shows the different generic event types in an‘unexpanded’ view as a single event timeline for a specific article'sjourney. In FIG. 12(b) the different event types are shown in a viewthat has been expanded, by activity category, into three differentactivity event streams (activities 1 to 3) or ‘swim lanes’. In FIG.12(c) the different event types are shown in a view that has beenexpanded, by behaviour category, into three different ‘behaviour’ eventstreams or ‘swim lanes’ (behaviours 1 to 3) based, for example, on theidentity of a person or group of people responsible at the time of theevent. In FIG. 12(d) the different event types are shown in a view thathas been expanded, by context category, into a number of different‘context’ event streams (contexts 1,1; 1,2; and 1,3 and 2,1; 2,2; and2,3) or ‘swim lanes’ for each of two different context types (contexttypes 1 and 2). For context type 1 the view has been expanded, bycontext category, into three different event streams (contexts 1,1; 1,2;and 1,3). For context type 2 the view has been expanded, by contextcategory, into three different event streams (contexts 2,1; 2,2; and2,3).

Another specific application of the method of managing data will now bedescribed with reference to FIG. 12, which illustrates the way in whichthe event data may be analysed and represented for a typical logisticsor similar scenario.

This example is focussed on logistics monitoring and control for parcelsand goods. In this case, the primary journey fingerprinting is aroundthe modes of transport and how assets are handled during the journey.Thus a representation of the journey fingerprint might look like thatshown in FIG. 12.

In this case, the event data may include, inter alia, data indicative ofa variety of events including: anomalous handling events; journey startand journey end events; change of transport type events; transportevents (e.g. events indicating a transport vehicle collision);environmental events (e.g. over temperature/over humidity); and/or thelike.

In the example of FIG. 13, the events shown in the representation aregrouped into a number of event types for improved clarity including:handling event types; road transport event types; air transport eventtypes; and a significant event detected type. It will be appreciated,however, that other type groupings are possible depending onrequirements.

In FIG. 13(a) the different event types are shown in an ‘unexpanded’view as a single event timeline for a specific article's journey. InFIG. 13(b) the different event types are shown in a view that has beenexpanded, by activity category, into three different activity eventstreams or ‘swim lanes’, namely: an air freight event stream; a roadfreight event stream; and a handling event stream. In FIG. 13(c) thedifferent event types are shown in a view that has been expanded, bybehaviour category, into three different ‘behaviour’ event streams or‘swim lanes’ based, in this example, on the identity of a couriertransporting the goods. Additional event streams for additional couriers(or fewer event streams for fewer couriers) are of course possible. InFIG. 13(d) the different event types are shown in a view that has beenexpanded, by context category, into a number of different ‘context’event streams or ‘swim lanes’ for each of two different context types: afactory zone context type; and a factory shift context type. For thefactory zone context type the view has been expanded, by contextcategory, into three different zone event streams (which may, forexample, represent warehousing zones, incoming shipments zones, outgoingshipments zone, or the like, or a combination thereof). For the factoryshift context type the view has been expanded, by context category, intothree different ‘shift’ event streams, based on timing data, namely: amorning shift event stream; an evening shift event stream; and a nightshift event stream.

The actual journey fingerprint can be compared with an expected journeyfingerprint, after the journey, in order to detect anomalies, todetermine how efficiently or well a particular process is beingperformed, and to identify weaknesses in a particular process throughwhich the monitored article (e.g. parcel or package) is being processed.A similar procedure can also be done substantially in real time toassist in operational decision making.

It will be appreciated that the different event types and event streamsare purely exemplary and may represent any suitable events and/orgroupings of events. Similarly, the event data may be expanded by anysuitable activity type, behaviour type or context type (or any otherclassification) as appropriate which may be sub-divided into anysuitable number of event streams.

It will be appreciated that the logistics implementation encompassesactivities beyond the vehicular transport chain. It can also includemovements within factories as goods are assembled as well as the secureactivation, authentication and warrantee compliance of the goods by theend-user. Thus the journey fingerprint can be specifically tailored toaccommodate many different users and use cases.

The manner in which the event data is used in this example issignificantly advantageous, compared to conventional logistics typetracking methods, which may use barcode, radio frequency identifier,and/or other identifier scanning at a number of discrete time pointsduring the journey of a package or other article, because the outputfrom the monitoring device, being driven by events affecting the articlewith which the monitoring device 2 is associated rather than by scanningopportunities, allows a detailed picture of the article's treatment tobe built up that is not restricted by location, time or the availabilityof scanning resources. For example, a conventional tracking method mayprovide a number of discrete scanning opportunities when the articlereaches certain specified locations (e.g. a warehouse, airport, deliveryaddress or the like) but does not provide visibility of what ishappening, or has happened, to specific articles during transit betweenthose scanning opportunities.

The benefits of capturing and displaying such data in this way include:

Cost savings; made possible by the reduction in scan/check operationsneeded, for example sufficient certainty of operation can be establishedusing this Journey Fingerprint approach, such that more ‘costly’ (infinancial and/or power budget terms) assessment options, e.g. GPSchecking, or personnel confirmation sequences can be minimised, andpotentially avoided altogetherTime savings. In a similar way to cost, operations can be minimised oreradicated altogether (e.g. barcode scanning, product and/or personnelverification scans etc.) thus saving processing time

The journey fingerprinting techniques described may be applicable to theother use cases mentioned above also.

In one example, a cold-chain variation of the logistics use-case may befocussed on the temperature, humidity, and/or physical handling of thegoods being transported (e.g. actively temperature controlledincubators) because the goods might include medicines, food and otherperishables where temperature is a vital factor, along with the humidityand any shocks experienced along the way.

As in logistics, cold-chain logistics encompass activities beyond thetransport chain. Of particular interest is the monitoring of“compliance” to the drug storage and regimen by the end user.

In another example, the journey finger print may be used to monitor thecondition of assets such as agricultural or other industrial machinery,based on vibrational analysis in a similar manner to the telematics casementioned above. In this case the journey fingerprint may be focussed onparticular activity, behaviour or context classifications specific totypical uses of the machinery in question.

Active monitoring and control of tools and assets is an enhancement ofthis condition monitoring application. In this case both a real timefeed and a journey fingerprint can be used to control the monitoreddevices proactively. The capture of “expected” journeys and thereal-time comparison with the actual journey fingerprint is particularlybeneficial.

For example, sensors could be used beneficially to monitor expensivemechanical machines (such as industrial drills) that are designed tolast, on average, for a particular number of uses and after which,critical parts such as the drill-bit may fail and need to be replaced.Sensors which sense the number of uses, the way in which the tool isused, when a tool is heading towards failure, and incidents of abnormalbehaviour can be used to allow predictive maintenance, possibly byservicing tools before failure to extend their life, and also to allowspares to be ordered so that time without a working tool is minimised.

Other systems where many apparatuses of the same type are expected tobehave similarly, such as a set of train doors, wind-turbine bladeswithin a wind-farm, conveyor belts etc. would all also benefit fromincreased monitoring using sensors, looking for ‘out of pattern’behaviours (either relative to historical data from the same item, orrelative to other items of the same type) to enable predictivemaintenance or servicing.

It can be seen, therefore, that in addition (or as an alternative) to animproved monitoring apparatus, an improved method for managing dataand/or an associated apparatus may also be provided.

In one example, for instance, there may be provided a method formanaging data received from at least one sensor, the method comprising:obtaining, from the at least one sensor, sensor data representing eventsaffecting a monitored object; processing the sensor data to identify theevents, to determine a respective event type for each identified event,and to determine a respective background circumstance associated witheach the event from a plurality of background circumstances of a commonbackground circumstance type; outputting, to a user, in a first outputstream, a respective representation of each identified event; andoutputting, responsive to input from the user, in a different respectiveoutput stream for each background circumstance of the common backgroundcircumstance type, a respective representation of each the event withwhich the background circumstance is associated.

The processing may comprise processing the sensor data to determine arespective further background circumstance associated with each theevent from a plurality of further background circumstances of a furthercommon background circumstance type. The method may further compriseoutputting, responsive to further input from the user, in a differentrespective output stream for each background circumstance of the furthercommon background circumstance type, a respective representation of eachthe event with which the background circumstance is associated.

The background circumstance type may comprise at least one of thefollowing: a first type in which each background circumstance representsan activity in which the monitored object is involved; a second type inwhich each background circumstance represents a behavioural circumstancerelated to the monitored object (e.g. individual or group of individualsresponsible for the monitored object) at a time when the associatedevent occurred; and a third type in which each background circumstancerepresents a context in which an associated event takes place.

The background circumstance type may comprise a third type in which eachbackground circumstance represents a context in which an associatedevent has taken place. The context may represent at least one of anenvironmental context (e.g. a temperature range or humidity range inwhich an associated event has taken place); a time context (e.g. a timeof day in which an associated event has taken place); and a locationcontext (e.g. a geographical location or region in which an associatedevent has taken place). Each background circumstance representing acontext in which an associated event has taken place may represent anyother context (which may be unrelated to environment, time of the eventor the location of the event) such as, for example, historical contextwhich depends on what has happened to the monitored object prior to theevent, or any other appropriate context.

The processing may further comprise processing the sensor data to groupevents into a plurality of groups each event group comprising events ofone or more different event types. The respective representation, ofeach event of a particular group, may share at least one common featurewith each other representation of the events of that particular group.

The events may be grouped into a plurality of groups including an eventgroup for significant events. The events may be grouped into a pluralityof groups including an event group for events occurring duringtransportation of a first type and a further event group for eventsoccurring during transportation of a second type.

The obtaining may obtain the sensor data representing events affecting amonitored object together with time data identifying a time associatedwith the event; may obtain the sensor data representing events affectinga monitored object together with location data (e.g. satellitepositioning data) identifying a geographic location or region associatedwith the event; and/or may obtain the sensor data representing eventsaffecting a monitored object together with environmental data (e.g.temperature and/or humidity data) identifying an environmental factor(e.g. a temperature and/or humidity) associated with the event.

Each identified event may be included in the first output stream in achronological order; may be included in each the output stream in achronological order; and/or may be output as a different respectivevisual stream on a display.

In one example, for instance, there may be provided apparatus formanaging data received from at least one sensor, the apparatuscomprising: means for obtaining, from the at least one sensor, sensordata representing events affecting a monitored object; means forprocessing the sensor data to identify the events, to determine arespective event type for each identified event, and to determine arespective background circumstance associated with each the event from aplurality of background circumstances of a common backgroundcircumstance type; and means for outputting, to a user, in a firstoutput stream, a respective representation of each identified event, andfor outputting, responsive to input from the user, in a differentrespective output stream for each background circumstance of the commonbackground circumstance type, a respective representation of each theevent with which the background circumstance is associated.

Various other modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the artand will not be described in further detail here.

1. Monitoring apparatus for providing vehicle telematics data, theapparatus comprising: means for sensing vehicle and engine motioninduced vibration in part of a vehicle and for generating vibrationassociated data, the sensing means being adapted to be coupled to saidpart of said vehicle; means for processing said vehicle and enginemotion induced vibration associated data to generate processed datarepresenting at least one characteristic of said vehicle or engine; andmeans for communicating said processed data representing at least onecharacteristic of said vehicle or engine to a communication device foruse in compiling telematics data for said vehicle; wherein theapparatus, by virtue of having a weight of less than 100 g, issufficiently lightweight to allow the sensing means to sense saidvehicle and engine motion induced vibration in said part of said vehiclewith sufficient sensitivity for the processing means to detect, fromsaid vehicle and engine motion induced vibration, at least one eventaffecting said vehicle, and to allow the apparatus to survive a typicalvehicle collision.
 2. Monitoring apparatus according to claim 1 whereinthe apparatus, by virtue of having a weight of less than 100 g, issufficiently lightweight to allow sensing means to sense said vehicleinduced vibration in said part of said vehicle with sufficientsensitivity for the processing means to detect, from said vehicle motioninduced vibration, at least one event affecting said vehicle that occurswhilst the vehicle is stationary with the engine off.
 3. Monitoringapparatus according to claim 1 or 2 wherein said apparatus comprises apower supply (for example a battery such as a coin cell battery or thelike) and wherein the apparatus has a weight of less than 100 gincluding said power supply.
 4. Monitoring apparatus according to anypreceding claim wherein said apparatus has a weight of less than 50 g.5. Monitoring apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein saidapparatus has a weight of approximately 25 g.
 6. Monitoring apparatusaccording to any preceding claim wherein said processing means isadapted to process said vibration associated data to provide processeddata representing at least one characteristic of said vehicle or enginecomprising at least one of: engine revolutions per minute (RPM), wheelRPM and/or currently engaged gear.
 7. Monitoring apparatus according toany preceding claim wherein said processing means is adapted to processsaid vibration associated data to provide processed data representing atleast one characteristic of said vehicle or engine comprising at leastone of: idle frequency, stroke cycle, number of cylinders, vehiclespeed, engine type and/or vehicle type.
 8. Monitoring apparatusaccording to any preceding claim wherein said processing means isadapted to process said vibration associated data to provide saidprocessed data representing at least one characteristic of said vehicleor engine in a format that requires further processing, by at least oneof said communication device and another device to derive saidcharacteristic of said vehicle or engine communication device for use incompiling telematics data for said vehicle.
 9. Monitoring apparatusaccording to any preceding claim wherein said processing means isadapted to generate said processed data based on a frequency analysis ofsaid vibration.
 10. Monitoring apparatus according to any precedingclaim wherein said processing means is adapted to detect at least onevehicle related event based on said vibration data.
 11. Monitoringapparatus according to any preceding claim wherein said sensing means isadapted to be coupled to, to sense vehicle and engine motion inducedvibration in, and to generate vibration associated data for, a part ofsaid vehicle comprising at least one of: a windscreen (windshield), abody part, and/or a part of a vehicle chassis.
 12. Monitoring apparatusaccording to any preceding claim wherein said sensing means is adaptedfor coupling to a rigid part of said vehicle.
 13. Monitoring apparatusaccording to any preceding claim wherein said apparatus comprises ahousing in which said sensing means is located, said housing beingadapted to be mounted to said part of said vehicle.
 14. Monitoringapparatus according to any preceding claim wherein said sensing meanscomprises an accelerometer.
 15. Monitoring apparatus according to anypreceding claim wherein said sensing means is adapted to sense vehiclemotion in a plurality of different dimensions and to provide associatedmotion data for said plurality of different dimensions.
 16. Monitoringapparatus according to claim 15 wherein said processing means is adaptedto derive an orientation of said motion data to a longitudinal axisrepresenting vehicle motion in a forward/reverse direction and a lateralaxis representing vehicle motion in a lateral (‘left/right’) directionwhen, in use, the vehicle begins to move after being stationary. 17.Monitoring apparatus according to claim 16 wherein said processing meansis adapted to maintain said orientation of said motion data to thelongitudinal and lateral axes for at least some future occasions when,in use, the vehicle begins to move after being stationary. 18.Monitoring apparatus according to claim 15, 16 or 17 wherein saidprocessing means is adapted to derive an orientation of said motion datato a vertical axis based on a gravitational force.
 19. Monitoringapparatus according to any preceding claim wherein said monitoringapparatus comprises means for connecting said apparatus to a diagnosticsport on said vehicle.
 20. Monitoring apparatus according to anypreceding claim wherein said means for communicating is adapted tocommunicate using wireless communication.
 21. Monitoring apparatusaccording to claim 20 wherein said means for communicating is adapted tocommunicate with said communication device using wireless communicationin accordance with at least one of a: Bluetooth, Bluetooth Smart, NearField Communication (NFC), Wi-Fi, 3G/2G, LTE, and Zigbee communicationprotocol.
 22. Monitoring apparatus according to any preceding claimwherein said means for communicating is adapted to communicate with saidcommunication device using wired communication.
 23. Monitoring apparatusaccording to any preceding claim wherein said monitoring apparatus isadapted to receive power from an internal battery (e.g. a coin cell,cylindrical cell, or the like).
 24. Monitoring apparatus according toany preceding claim wherein said monitoring apparatus is adapted to beconnected into an electrical circuit of said vehicle and to receivepower from said electrical circuit.
 25. Monitoring apparatus accordingto any preceding claim wherein said sensing means is adapted to senseother vehicle motion and to output associated data; and said processingmeans is adapted to process other vehicle motion associated data and togenerate processed data representing at least one characteristic of saidvehicle.
 26. Monitoring apparatus according to claim 25 wherein saidprocessing means is adapted to process said other vehicle motionassociated data to provide processed data representing at least oneevent affecting said vehicle, the event comprising at least one of: anacceleration event, an impact event whilst the vehicle is stationary andthe engine is off, a motion event whilst the vehicle is stationary andthe engine is on, a door opening or closing event, and an impact whilstmoving event (e.g. a crash event, or a windscreen chip or crack event);and wherein said communicating means is adapted to communicate saidprocessed data representing at least one event affecting said vehicle toa communication device for use in compiling telematics data for saidvehicle.
 27. Monitoring apparatus for providing vehicle data, theapparatus comprising: means for sensing vehicle motion and forgenerating vehicle motion associated data for a vehicle having anengine; means for processing said vehicle motion associated data togenerate processed data representing at least one impact event affectingsaid vehicle whilst the vehicle is stationary with the engine off; andmeans for communicating said processed data representing at least oneimpact event to a communication device.
 28. Monitoring apparatusaccording to any preceding claim wherein the apparatus has a first dataacquisition mode and a second data acquisition mode, the powerconsumption of the device being relatively higher in the second dataacquisition mode than the first data acquisition mode; and wherein saidprocessing means is configured to: identify at least one vehicle relatedevent from said vehicle and engine motion induced vibration associateddata; to determine a respective vehicle related event type for eachidentified event; to determine whether a change from one of the firstand second data acquisition modes to the other of said first and seconddata acquisition modes should be triggered based on said determinationof a respective event type for each identified event; and to triggersaid change from said one of the first and second data acquisition modesto the other of said first and second data acquisition modes when it isdetermined that said change should be triggered.
 29. Monitoringapparatus for providing vehicle telematics data, the apparatuscomprising: means for sensing vehicle and engine motion inducedvibration in part of a vehicle and for generating vibration associateddata, the sensing means being adapted to be coupled to said part of saidvehicle; means for processing said vehicle and engine motion inducedvibration associated data to generate processed data representing atleast one characteristic of said vehicle or engine; and means forcommunicating said processed data representing at least onecharacteristic of said vehicle or engine to a communication device foruse in compiling telematics data for said vehicle; wherein the apparatushas a first data acquisition mode and a second data acquisition mode,the power consumption of the device being relatively higher in thesecond data acquisition mode than the first data acquisition mode;wherein said processing means is configured to: identify at least onevehicle related event from said vehicle and engine motion inducedvibration associated data; to determine a respective vehicle relatedevent type for each identified event; to determine whether a change fromone of the first and second data acquisition modes to the other of saidfirst and second data acquisition modes should be triggered based onsaid determination of a respective event type for each identified event;and to trigger said change from said one of the first and second dataacquisition modes to the other of said first and second data acquisitionmodes when it is determined that said change should be triggered. 30.Monitoring apparatus according to claim 28 or 29 wherein, in the seconddata acquisition mode, the apparatus is configured to do at least oneof: read sensor data at an increased rate relative to the first dataacquisition mode in order to gather sensor data; send a communicationsignal at an increased rate relative to the first data acquisition modefor establishing a connection for transmitting data; select a differentpower-management algorithm relative to the first data acquisition mode;and/or choose an alternative service flow/communication protocol methodrelative to the first data acquisition mode.
 31. Monitoring apparatusaccording to any preceding claim wherein the processor is configured to:generate a profile of data from the sensing means; wherein saidtriggering of a change from said one of the first and second dataacquisition modes to the other of said first and second data acquisitionmodes comprises triggering a power management component configured tovary a duty cycle in dependence upon said profile between said one ofthe first and second data acquisition modes and the other of said firstand second data acquisition modes.
 32. A method of monitoring vehicletelematics data using the monitoring apparatus of any of claims 1 to 29,the method comprising: sensing, at the sensing means of the monitoringapparatus, vehicle and engine motion induced vibration in part of avehicle to which the sensor is coupled and generating vibrationassociated data; processing, at the processing means of the monitoringapparatus, said vehicle and engine motion induced vibration associateddata to generate processed data representing at least one characteristicof said vehicle or engine; and communicating, using the communicatingmeans of the monitoring apparatus, said processed data representing atleast one characteristic of said vehicle or engine to a communicationdevice for use in compiling telematics data for said vehicle.
 33. Amethod of monitoring vehicle data, the method comprising: sensingvehicle motion and generating vehicle motion associated data for avehicle having an engine; processing said vehicle motion associated datato generate processed data representing at least one impact eventaffecting said vehicle whilst the vehicle is stationary with the engineoff; and communicating said processed data representing at least oneimpact event to a communication device.
 34. A computer program productcomprising computer implementable instructions for putting the method ofclaim 32 or 33 into effect when executed on a programmable device.